‘The Holdovers’s Digital Debut Didn’t Hurt Domestic Box Office Run

The Big Picture

• The Holdovers has crossed the $15 million mark domestically at the box office after three weeks in wide release.
• The film has received positive reviews and currently has a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• This marks a critical rebound for director Alexander Payne, following the disappointment of his previous film, Downsizing.

Being made available on digital platforms doesn’t seem to have affected The Holdovers at the box office. Director Alexander Payne’s bittersweet comedy drama hit a nifty little milestone at the domestic box office this weekend, as it completed its third week in wide release. Starring Paul Giamatti in the central role alongside newcomer Dominic Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers passed the $15 million mark domestically this weekend, after adding $1.1 million to its total.

The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this year, where it was scooped up by Focus Features for a reported $30 million. It opened in six New York and Los Angeles locations in October, alongside Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, before expanding into over 700 domestic theaters the following week. The film hit its widest theater-count a week ago, as it played in over 1,600 locations nationwide and grossed around $4.5 million.

Already an awards favorite, especially for Giamatti and Sessa’s central performances — Randolph recently scored a Best Supporting Actress honor from the New York Film Critics Circle — The Holdovers currently sits at a “fresh” 96% score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Collider’s Ross Bonaime called it “a surprisingly and lovely film,” and declared it to be Payne’s most “big-hearted” release. It tells the story of a curmudgeonly teacher at a boys boarding school, who is forced to chaperon a student with nowhere to go over the holidays.

‘The Holdovers’ Marks a Critical Rebound for Payne

Payne, who broke out over two decades ago with the comedy-drama Election, starring Reese Witherspoon, has directed a handful of critically and commercially successful movies in his career. His biggest hits remain About Schmidt, Sideways (also featuring Giamatti) and The Descendants, each of which grossed over $100 million globally. He won writing Oscars for his work on Sideways and The Descendants, for which he also scored Best Director nominations. He earned a third directing nomination for his 2013 comedy-drama, Nebraska.

The Holdovers marks something of a comeback for the filmmaker, whose last release, Downsizing, was also considered to be his biggest disappointment. Produced on a reported budget of around $70 million, the film earned mixed reviews and tapped out with $55 million at the global box office despite featuring Matt Damon in the lead and generating awards buzz for Hong Chau’s supporting performance. The Holdovers’ relatively strong theatrical run — the movie will no doubt receive a bump when it rolls out overseas during Oscars season — is an encouraging sign for smaller releases, which were thought to have been impacted badly by the pandemic. You can watch the film in theaters and at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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