Hadestown: The Musical movie leads a packed indie weekend
Bleecker Street’s theater capture hits 1,948 screens as indie releases crowd cinemas with Motor City, Her Private Hell and more.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Hadestown: The Musical movie is leading the busiest specialty-release weekend in weeks, with Bleecker Street sending the filmed stage production to 1,948 screens, Deadline reported.
The release comes from Crosswalk, Bleecker’s event-cinema division, in partnership with LD Entertainment. Deadline reported that the run was first planned as a five-night engagement with limited showtimes, then grew after exhibitors added screenings in response to demand.
Where is Hadestown: The Musical movie opening?
According to Deadline, Hadestown: The Musical is opening on 1,948 screens. A theater capture is a filmed version of a stage production presented in cinemas, giving moviegoers access to a live-performance format without attending the original venue.
Bleecker expects the film to deliver the second-best opening weekend ever for a Broadway capture, behind only Hamilton, Deadline reported. Thursday previews brought in $1.5 million, and presales have already passed Bleecker’s 2023 release Waitress: The Musical.
The filmed West End production features Reeve Carney, André de Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada and Patrick Page, the five original principal cast members from the Broadway company, according to Deadline. The stage musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, won eight Tony Awards in 2019, including best musical, and later won the 2020 Grammy Award for best musical theater album. Brett Sullivan directed the film version.
Deadline said the Hadestown story follows two linked romances: Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone. The film premiered at the Tribeca Festival this summer.
Crosswalk’s slate is also building beyond Broadway. Deadline reported that the label opened Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience to $5.5 million earlier this year, with George Michael: The Faith Tour due later in 2026.
What else is opening in indie theaters?
Independent Film Company is taking Motor City wide on 1,600 screens, Deadline reported. The 1970s Detroit crime-revenge thriller stars Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Pablo Schreiber and Ben Foster, with Potsy Ponciroli directing from a Chad St. John screenplay.
Neon has two new releases. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell, starring Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton and Havana Rose Liu, opens in 670 locations after premiering at Cannes, according to Deadline. Neon is also opening Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Cannes sci-fi drama Sheep In The Box at IFC Center and Lincoln Square in New York and AMC Century in Los Angeles.
- Variance Films opens Lil Rel Howery’s directing debut, Haunted Heist, on 373 screens, with Tiffany Haddish, Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor, Karlous Miller and Howery among the cast, Deadline reported.
- Mubi starts Karim Aïnouz’s Berlin title Rosebush Pruning at New York’s Angelika Film Center before a Los Angeles expansion next week and more markets in August.
- Watermelon Pictures opens Cyril Aris’ Beirut-set drama A Sad and Beautiful World, Lebanon’s 2026 Oscar submission, at the Quad in New York.
- Fourth Act Film opens Tasha Van Zandt’s documentary A Life Illuminated, about marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder, at DCTV Firehouse for a weeklong run.
- Several Futures opens Lorena Alvarado’s Venezuelan drama Lost Chapters at IFC Center in New York.
- Viva Pictures releases Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s R-rated Pinocchio Unstrung in 500 theaters after $60,000 in Thursday previews from 385 locations, Deadline reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.