“Fjord,” Cristian Mungiu’s film, achieves the strongest North American box-office debut among niche releases

“Fjord,” the legal thriller directed by Cristian Mungiu, recorded the strongest North American box office debut among the weekend’s niche releases, taking in $124,000 in just four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The Palme d’Or-winning Neon production stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve and follows two parents suspected of child abuse.

The film is among the limited releases hoping to enter the race for the Oscars. Its commercial performance will be assessed in the coming weeks, when it reaches more theaters across the United States.

In the overall North American box office rankings, “Other Mommy,” the horror film starring Jessica Chastain, debuted in first place with $27.5 million. However, the production received poor reviews, with a 19% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and has grossed $45.19 million worldwide.

“The Social Reckoning,” Aaron Sorkin’s film about the Facebook scandal, debuted in fifth place with $5.5 million in North America. Meanwhile, “Digger,” starring Tom Cruise, dropped sharply in its second weekend and faces major losses after accumulating just $35.3 million worldwide.