A new daredevil conquered the box office this past weekend, without the help of any flashy tricks or high-tech gadgets. After opening on only two screens in New York City on July 25th, Magnolia Pictures’ latest documentary, Man on Wire, grossed an impressive $51,392 over the weekend (Friday to Sunday), averaging $25,696 per screen. The highest per screen average of any film currently playing in the United States, Man on Wire even overtook this summer’s blockbuster sensation The Dark Knight, which had a per screen average of $17,000.

James Marsh’s award-winning documentary, which follows the extraordinary high-wire artist Philippe Petit as he prepares for his incredible 1974 walk between the World Trade Center towers, boasts the strongest opening weekend for any documentary released so far this year. Man on Wire has also surpassed numerous critically acclaimed documentaries in ticket sales, including Super Size Me, No End in Sight and ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room and currently holds the fifth spot as the highest per screening opening for a documentary in the last five years.

Man on Wire continues its run at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Landmark’s Sunshine Cinema and opens on August 1st at the AMC Empire 25 and City Cinemas 86th Street East. Not only will Man on Wire expand locally on August 8th in Brooklyn, Long Island and New Jersey, but will take its act nationwide, opening in the cities of Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, Austin, Portland, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Atlanta, with many more national markets to follow.

For more information, visit http://www.manonwire.com.

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