‘A Thousand and One’ Makes Solid Debut at Box Office

After taking the top prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, A Thousand and One made a solid debut this weekend at the box office.

The film earned an estimated $1.8 million from 926 domestic locations, for a per theater average of $1,944, according to Comscore.

The Harlem-set drama comes from first-time director A.V. Rockwell.

It follows free-spirited Inez, an impoverished single mom who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. Holding onto their secret and each other,  mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.

R&B artist and actress Teyana Taylor leads the cast as Inez. The film also stars Josiah Cross, Will Catlett, Aaron Kingsley Adetole, Aven Courtney, Terri Victoria, Abney Delissa Reynolds, Amelia Workman, Adriane Lenox. Lena Waithe is among the producers.

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A Thousand and One won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January.

The film has received strong reviews, with critics describing it as “beautiful,” “honest,” and “moving.” As of Sunday, the Focus Features release had a 98 percent positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Still, it only managed a seventh place finish at the box office, after moviegoers focused most of their attention on bigger-budget features.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves opened in first place with $38.5 million, Comscore reported. The film centers on a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers who undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry.

The action-adventure stars Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, and is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.

Last week’s leader, John Wick: Chapter 4 slid to second place with $28.2 million.

Scream VI and the faith-based new film His Only Son were in a dead heat for third place, with about $5.3 million each.

Biblical drama His Only Son centers on the Old Testament account of Abraham being commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac on the mountain of Moriah. The film is written and directed by David Helling.

Creed III rounded out the top five this weekend with $5 million in its fifth weekend.

Check out the box office chart below from Comscore.