Box Office: John Wilson’s ‘The History of Concrete’ from Magnolia Becomes IFC Center’s Second Biggest Debut

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “The History of Concrete,” John Wilson‘s feature directorial debut, cemented itself in the history of the IFC Center, becoming the theater’s second-highest-grossing debut. The Magnolia Pictures release opened to an impressive $90,000. That’s behind only Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” in terms of inaugural results. “Parasite” racked up $119,000 at the IFC Center, whereas the film that “The History of Concrete” supplanted for second place, “Sleepwalk with Me,” earned $68,801. Heading into the weekend, Wilson’s film was already looking strong, having netted more than $60,000 in pre-sales to become the highest-grossing opening for a documentary in the theater’s history. But it kept moving tickets, with screenings nearly sold out at the Greenwich Village theater. Wilson attended multiple showings to do Q&As. “The History of Concrete,” which talks about the building material in Wilson’s signature offbeat style, had its premiere at the IFC Center — the director posed in front of a cement truck that had been adorned with the film’s title. They also created a 125-pound poster made of actual concrete that’s stationed in the lobby of the theater. “We’re thrilled that ‘The History of Concrete’ is IFC Center’s second-biggest opener for any film ever, and the biggest documentary opener of all time — a testament to John Wilson’s unique blend of humor, curiosity, and heart, and the creativity of the campaign by our good friends at Magnolia,” said Harris Dew, IFC Center’s senior vice president and general manager. “Young moviegoers turned out in force, leading to multiple sold-out screenings all weekend.” Magnolia also broke records earlier this summer at IFC Center with its buzzy release of John Early’s “Maddie’s Secret,” which opened to $58,242 and is IFC Center’s seventh-biggest opener of all time. Since the film’s world premiere at Sundance, Wilson has made the rounds, and will appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “The Daily Show,” “Morning Joe,” and had features in everything from Architectural Digest and The New Yorker to Rolling Stone. Wilson has developed a fan base, thanks to the comedy docuseries “How To with John Wilson,” which had a three-season run on HBO. Magnolia acquired “The History of Concrete” out of the Sundance Film Festival. Magnolia is also working with the NYC Department of Education to host a free screening for high schoolers in architecture, construction, and film schools at IFC Center later this month, which will kick off the theater offering discounted tickets to high school students for the duration of the film’s run. The film expands to L.A. and additional cities next weekend, with more cities to follow Oct. 2. By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.