One of the most unlikely box-office heroes now has the milestone to back it up. “Hundreds of Beavers,” the black-and-white, silent, slapstick comedy released into theaters without formal distribution, surpassed $1 million at the box office on a budget of just $150,000.
“They said it would never happen,” the film tweeted on Tuesday. “Long live indie cinema! $150,000 budget and a dream. And thank you to the fans who got us here. Finally, thank you to our theatrical booker who has been independently booking indie cinema for decades. She’s a real soldier of cinema. We got really lucky we found her.”
“Back when we hit $100,000 at the Box Office we were told that one hundred thousand is the new one million for truly independent releases, so we popped the champagne,” “Hundreds of Beavers” lead producer Kurt Ravenwood said in a statement to IndieWire. “At this point we are so out of champagne that we have resorted to drinking moonshine my grandpa has in his basement. We are very drunk, very happy, and so thankful to all of the indie theaters who took a chance on us. We hope this encourages more filmmakers and studios to make movies for the big screen.”
OK, $1 million is not much in the grand box-office scheme — but for this film, it’s a massive achievement. After it debuted in 2022 and spent a year playing 50 film festivals, the producers took the film on tour — not on the coasts, where most distributors typically start — but in the Midwest, the filmmakers’ home turf.
The Great Lakes Road Show began January 26, 2024; it didn’t hit New York and LA until March. Anyone who’s a member of the “Beaverati” knows it’s not just a screening; it’s a live event with vaudeville comedy and a filmmaker Q&A. Sometimes, it’s interrupted by a beaver wrestling match in the audience.
That was the beginning of the long (and ongoing) journey for “Hundreds of Beavers.” The film finally crossed $1 million in Germany: On February 13, “Beavers” opened in 68 theaters across the country after the producers shopped the film to exhibitors at the “Filmkunstmesse Leipzig,” an arthouse convention for German theater owners.
Lighthouse Entertainment, which partnered with Ravenwood and other filmmakers on the release, worked with German partner 24 Bilder to secure screenings at venues such as the Delphi Lux and Rollberg in Berlin and the City venue in Munich. The film continues to be a hit abroad, now entering its fourth week in theaters. The film’s star Ryland Brickson Cole Tews also is on a tour across the UK, hitting 40 cities in a four-month span and selling out every show.
Back in the U.S. the film continues to be a hit, and the team is rolling out new surprises for dedicated return audiences. They have several 35mm screenings, including Los Angeles at the New Beverly March 28-30, as well as other screenings in Boston, New York City, Cleveland, Tucson, Portland, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Miami, San Francisco, and more. It’s new to some theaters while others are bringing it back, with the IFC in NY and the Laemmle in LA hosting anniversary screenings later this month.
“Hundreds of Beavers” had a huge turnout at the Music Box in Chicago, earning just under $8,000 from a single screening, the highest individual gross of any “Beavers” showing. And The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA earned over $5,000 across three shows in a single day (even though it was booked with just 10 days’ notice).
The film’s top markets include New York and Los Angeles, followed by Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and Portland, but the team considers Seattle as “Beaver Central.” The movie has played there at least once a month since March 2024, starting at the Grand Illusion Cinema, which is now temporarily closed. As a result, Seattle’s Central Cinema donated half of its “Beavers” box office to help the Grand Illusion find a new home.
All this, and the film has already been streaming since last April and even got a special edition Blu-Ray, as IndieWire first reported back in November.
Directed by Mike Cheslik, “Hundreds of Beavers” follows an applejack salesman Jean Kayak who, after beavers destroy his orchard and brewery, wanders the wilderness fighting for his survival. We see Kayak become a master fur trader working to collect enough beaver furs to win the hand of a shopkeeper’s daughter, but the premise doesn’t fully prepare you for the oddity.
As for that “soldier of cinema,” the theatrical booker who makes the “Hundreds of Beavers” filmmakers count their lucky stars? Her name is Jessica Rosner and she’s been booking films since 1985.
