Courtesy Everett Collection

Box Office: Timothée Chalamet’s ‘Marty Supreme’ Sets Arthouse Ablaze With $875,000 From Just Six Theaters

by · Variety

Bow down to Marty Mauser.

A24‘s “Marty Supreme,” a sports dramedy starring Timothée Chalamet as the fictional table tennis champ Marty Mauser, broke into the top 10 at the domestic box office with $875,000 while playing on just six screens. That’s a result of 92 sold-out showtimes across four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles. (For context, Disney’s political dramedy “Ella McCay” earned far less over the weekend — approximately $480,000 — from a much more substantial 2,500 screens in its sophomore outing.)

Related Stories

‘A Concert for Altadena’ Benefit to Feature Brandon Flowers, Rufus Wainwright, Mandy Moore, Many More

'Landman' Season 2 Episode 6: Craziest Moments and Burning Questions, From a Fightin' Grandpa and a Flirtin' Geologist to Tommy Potentially Getting Fired

“This initial performance is certainly a bellwether for continued success,” says Shawn Robbins, Fandango’s director of movie analytics.

Initial ticket sales for “Marty Supreme” translate to $145,933 per theater — registering as the best per-screen-average (PSA) of the year, the biggest PSA of all time for A24 and the highest PSA for a platform release since 2016’s box office hit “La La Land,” according to the studio. PSA is the key metric for indie films, which debut in select theaters to start rather than thousands across the country. The goal is drumming up awareness and building excitement before a film expands its theatrical footprint. In that respect, the platform debut for “Marty Supreme” should bode remarkably well ahead of the movie’s nationwide expansion on Christmas Day. That’s encouraging because “Marty Supreme” carries a budget of roughly $70 million.

“As history has shown, a massive limited release success doesn’t always lead to big box office when such films expand wide,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. “But the star power of Timothée Chalamet and interest in ‘Marty Supreme’ among Gen Z moviegoers should play well in its favor.”

So far, Chalamet has delivered a master class in getting out the word for an original film. That’s no small feat in 2025 when most indie releases have collapsed in theaters. He’s captured the attention of the social media masses by gifting his famous friends the viral 1950s-esque windbreaker, dispatching a Nickelodeon-orange blimp to fly around the country, advertising on the Sphere in Las Vegas, and turning the refrain “Marty Supreme. Christmas Day” into a mantra. Josh Safdie (“Uncut Gems”) directed “Marty Supreme,” an R-rated, frenetic comedy-of-errors that follows a young Marty Mauser as he pursues his dream of becoming a table-tennis champ.

“Timothée Chalamet is the ‘it guy’ right now. There’s no denying it,” says Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock. “The promotional work he’s done with this film is high-level genius. He knows it’s all about social awareness. That’s what creates viral moments — and how A24 advertises without a big budget.” 

Over the weekend, Chalamet made a surprise stop at “Marty Supreme” screenings in New York City — and revealed plans to make many more drop-ins over the next week. “For your information, I’m doing this at every screening, for the next four days,” he told one crowd on Friday. “I got 128 appearances in the next 96 hours.”

For many moviegoers in Manhattan, a chance to see the one and only Chalamet in the flesh is well worth the price of admission. Now the question is what enthusiasm for “Marty Supreme” will look like outside of New York City.