Neon's witchy horror film 'Hokum,' starring Adam Scott, topped the indie box office with a $6.4 million opening on 1,885 screens. The low-budget Irish-set tale placed fifth overall in North America amid strong studio competition. It earned Certified Fresh status and positive audience scores.
'Hokum,' directed by Damian McCarthy, follows novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) as he retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, only to encounter haunting tales of a witch and disturbing visions. The film also stars Brendan Conroy, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Michael Patric, Will O’Connell and Florence Ordesh. Made on a $5 million budget, it debuted behind major releases like 'The Devil Wears Prada 2,' 'Michael,' 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' and 'Project Hail Mary.' Neon is handling international sales for the film, its first release under a partnership with Spooky Pictures, which collaborates with Image Nation and Waypoint’s Cweature Features. The strong opening reflects an 18% box office increase this weekend compared to last year, according to Comscore. 'Hokum' holds an 86% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an 82% Popcornmeter score and a B Cinemascore. Adam Scott recently discussed the scary aspects of filming on location in Ireland. Other indie performers included Angel Studio’s animated 'Animal Farm' at $3.4 million, Magenta Light Studios’ 'Deep Water' at $2.15 million and RZA’s 'One Spoon Of Chocolate' at $574,000.
