The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2018 (A Running List)

The below list only includes domestic (U.S. and Canada only, unless otherwise indicated) grosses for specialty films — which we define to include independent, foreign (including Bollywood films), and/or documentary films — that opened in limited release (599 screens and under) in 2018 AND/OR were acquired or produced for 2018 distribution by an independent distributor (including STX Films, Annapurna, A24, Entertainment Studios, Amazon, Netflix, Aviron, Global Road, and Bleecker Street) or a studio or its specialty division (including Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, and Focus Features).

When provided, this list also includes budgets for each film. Last year’s list can be found here.

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Grosses include all reported grosses (via BoxOfficeMojo) up to December 18, 2018. This chart is updated every Tuesday afternoon.

1. “I Can Only Imagine”
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Budget (if reported): $7M
Release Date: March 16
Opening Theater Count: 1,627
Opening Average: $10,513
Current Gross: $83,482,352

2. “I Feel Pretty”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $32M
Release Date: April 20
Opening Theater Count: 3,440
Opening Average: $4,660
Current Gross: $48,795,601

3. “BlacKkKlansman”
Distributor: Focus Features
Budget (if reported): $15M
Release Date: August 10
Opening Theater Count: 1,512
Opening Average: $7,173
Current Gross: $48,271,960

4. “Den of Thieves”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $30M
Release Date: January 19
Opening Theater Count: 2,432
Opening Average: $6,253
Current Gross: $44,947,622

5. “Hereditary”
Distributor: A24
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: June 8
Opening Theater Count: 2,964
Opening Average: $4,580
Current Gross: $44,069,456

6. “Mile 22”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $50M
Release Date: August 17
Opening Theater Count: 3,520
Opening Average: $3,895
Current Gross: $36,108,758

7. “Peppermint”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $25M
Release Date: September 7
Opening Theater Count: 2,980
Opening Average: $4,504
Current Gross: $35,418,723

8. “Isle of Dogs”
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 23
Opening Theater Count: 27
Opening Average: $59,825
Current Gross: $32,015,231

9. “Adrift”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $35M
Release Date: June 1
Opening Theater Count: 3,015
Opening Average: $3,848
Current Gross: $31,445,012

10. “Searching”
Distributor: Screen Gems (acquired at Sundance 2018)
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: August 24
Opening Theater Count: 9
Opening Average: $43,197
Current Gross: $26,020,957

11. “Strangers: Prey at Night”
Distributor: Aviron Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: March 9
Opening Theater Count: 2,464
Opening Average: $4,222
Current Gross: $24,586,708

12. “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
Distributor: Focus Features
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: June 8
Opening Theater Count: 29
Opening Average: $16,394
Current Gross: $22,609,437

13. “The Happytime Murders”
Distributor: STX
Budget (if reported): $40M
Release Date: August 27
Opening Theater Count: 3,526
Opening Average: $2,928
Current Gross: $20,706,452

14. “Show Dogs”
Distributor: Global Road
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: May 18
Opening Theater Count: 3,212
Opening Average: $1,875
Current Gross: $17,857,020

15. “Sorry to Bother You”
Distributor: Annapurna
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: July 6
Opening Theater Count: 16
Opening Average: $45,454
Current Gross: $17,493,096

16. “Chappaquiddick”
Distributor: Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: April 6
Opening Theater Count: 1,560
Opening Average: $3,696
Current Gross: $17,395,520

17. “Forever My Girl”
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Budget (if reported): $3.5M
Release Date: January 19
Opening Theater Count: 1,114
Opening Average: $3,811
Current Gross: $16,376,066

18. “RBG”
Distributor: Magnolia
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: May 4
Opening Theater Count: 34
Opening Average: $17,014
Current Gross: $14,017,361

19. “Eighth Grade”
Distributor: A24
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: August 13
Opening Theater Count: 4
Opening Average: $65,949
Current Gross: $13,539,709

20. “Three Identical Strangers”
Distributor: NEON
Budget (if reported): NA
Release Date: June 29
Opening Theater Count: 5
Opening Average: $34,301
Current Gross: $12,320,845

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