The Sundance Award-winning film based on Harvey Pekar's American Splendor comic book series expanded from six theaters to 32 in its second weekend of release and had the highest per-screen average ($15,156) among films showing in more than one theater.  During the past weekend the film expanded from just four cities (New York, L.A., Cleveland, and Toronto) to include theaters in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C. Philadelphia, Seattle, Montreal, and Vancouver.  Next weekend American Splendor will open in a host of new cities (see 'American Splendor Theater List'), and judging from results of its first week in New York and Los Angeles, more and more pop culture retailers should be able to profit from the film's release if they can only get the books to sell.

 

ICv2 contacted select retailers in New York and Los Angeles to see how American Splendor trades were selling -- and the results of our informal survey were very encouraging.  The two stores that reported doing the best with American Splendor were, quite naturally, the two stores with American Splendor window displays.  Both Jim Hanley's Comic Universe in New York City and Golden Apple in Los Angeles had contacted New Line Cinema on their own and obtained posters and bobble-head dolls, which they used for window displays and promotional giveaways.  Hanley's store managed to obtain copies of all four American Splendor trade paperbacks including Bob & Harv's Comics and Our Cancer Year, which are currently out of print from the publisher.  Golden Apple has the two American Splendor trades currently in print, The New American Splendor Anthology ($18.95) from Four Walls Eight Windows and the new Ballantine American Splendor ($16.95), which includes the first two American Splendor anthologies and features a movie-based cover with Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar.  A spokesperson for Golden Apple told ICv2, 'Although with the film showing at just two theaters in Los Angeles, it is awfully early in the exhibition cycle to make any definitive judgments, it does appear that American Splendor has the potential to be another Ghost World.  And, the great thing is, Ghost World and the other Dan Clowes books continue to sell, even two years after the movie.'

 

Distributors contacted by ICv2 also reported a run on American Splendor titles.  Diamond Comic Distributors has sold out of all the American Splendor trades, although three of the Dark Horse American Splendor single issues, Bedtime Stories, and Unsung Heroes #1 and #3 are available.  The first Dark Horse American Splendor trade paperback collection, which collects the Unsung Heroes issues, should ship to stores on Wednesday, but according to Diamond's Roger Fletcher 'all the extras are sold out.' FM International reported very strong sales of American Splendor trades, but they still have the movie-based Ballantine trade in stock.  ICv2 contacted Four Walls Eight Windows and found out that Our Cancer Year, which also has great relevance to the film, is being reprinted and should be available early in September.  Bob & Harv's Comics, which collects the American Splendor stories illustrated by Robert Crumb, should be back in print by the middle of October.  By October retailers may be able to sell five American Splendor trade paperback collections, but right now only the New American Splendor Anthology from Four Walls Eight Windows and Ballantine's American Splendor are available.  Certainly the Ballantine book, with its movie cover and early autobiographical stories is the key tie-in book, and the New American Splendor Anthology is a natural add-on, but it is unfortunate that Our Cancer Year and Bob & Harv's Comics are temporarily out of print.