'Buddy' Holds Strong, CatVideoFest Crosses $1 Million, and a Jimmy Buffett Doc Debuts: Indie Box Office Over Labor Day
The dark comedy Buddy grossed an estimated $7.2 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend, bringing its cumulative total to $15.7 million, according to Deadline. Released by Roadside Attractions and Saban Films on August 28, the film has now spent two weekends in theatres and is holding firm.
Directed by Casper Kelly, Buddy imagines children trapped inside the cheerful world of a 1990s television series, where they must defy a tyrannical orange unicorn host voiced by Keegan-Michael Key. The film added 500 screens in its second frame, reaching 1,771 locations, and ranked seventh at the domestic box office — the United States and Canada — for the three-day portion of the holiday weekend. Its opening weekend had already beaten expectations, pulling in an estimated $5.3 million on 1,258 screens against tracking that projected roughly $2.5 million, as IndieWire reported.
A24 had two titles in the mix. Adam Wingard's slasher-action film Onslaught launched to $1.9 million for the three days and an estimated $2.3 million across four days on 1,918 screens. Matt Johnson's Tony added roughly $1.3 million over three days and $1.5 million over four, bringing its cume to $13.8 million in its fourth weekend on 773 screens, per Deadline.
Mubi's Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, directed by Jane Schoenbrun, posted a $343,000 three-day gross and an estimated $421,000 across four days in its fifth week at 229 theatres. Its cumulative stands at $6.2 million. Olivia Wilde's The Invite added $123,000 over the four-day weekend as it wound down its run, finishing at a $26 million cume.
Two other openers found their footing. IFC Films' The Sun Never Sets grossed $145,000 over three days and $175,000 across four, reaching a $191,000 cume at 375 theatres. Well Go USA's Chinese family drama Dear You opened to $190,300 from 160 locations for the three-day frame.
On the documentary front, Occupational Hazard: The First Coral Reefers — a feature about Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band in the 1970s and early 1980s, narrated by Jeff Bridges — debuted at the Key West Theater on September 5. Two sold-out screenings grossed $5,200, per Deadline. The film, from Evan Saxon Productions, is set to expand to roughly 70 locations through October.
CatVideoFest 2026, an Oscilloscope compilation reel of curated cat videos assembled by Will Braden, crossed the $1 million mark in its fifth week. It grossed $76,000 on 32 screens for the three-day weekend and $92,000 across four days. The project, which donates a share of ticket proceeds to animal welfare organisations at participating venues, will continue its international expansion through the end of 2026, adding France, Denmark and the United Kingdom. It had previously cracked the top ten at the domestic box office, as Page Six noted in August.
Smaller titles kept working their way outward. Kino Lorber's Filipiñana grossed an estimated $62,000 on 16 screens in week two, reaching a $128,000 cume. Variance Films' The Cycle of Love took in $14,600 for three days and $17,400 across four on just three screens, with a national expansion adding over 20 markets planned for next weekend. Watermelon Pictures' documentary American Doctor posted $111,000 for three days and $141,000 for four at 53 theatres, bringing its cume to $345,000.
The broader marketplace pulled in $88 million over the three-day domestic weekend, per Rentrak data cited by Deadline, bringing the summer 2026 domestic total to $4.732 billion by the end of Sunday — already the second-best summer on record.
