‘Tale Of King Crab’ Launches Robust Italian Arthouse Slate With Help From Cinecitta, Ira Deutchman – Specialty Box Office

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The Tale Of King Crab, a cinematically striking fable shot in rural Italy and Argentina, opened to a three-day gross of $5,120 at Film at Lincoln Center this weekend — the first in a string of Italian offerings set to arrive on the specialty scene through the summer.“In today’s challenging arthouse market, we count this early result as a success and believe the film will continue to find a devoted audience as it rolls out nationally,” said Andrew Carlin, head of distribution for Oscilloscope Laboratories, which presents the film directed by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis.

Set in a remote 19th-century Italian village and the distant Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, it expands to LA’s Landmark Nuart on April 29 and into top 50 markets throughout May.“We saw this at Cannes last year on the biggest and best screen possible and found it equal parts beguiling and immersive.

The first part, a tragic love story in beautiful pastoral settings in rural Italy, then Tierra del Fuego [where] a fake priest surrounded by pirates is being led to treasure by a crab,” Carlin said. “We know this is the kind of film that presents a challenge, certainly, in the marketplace today.

But it’s tried and true arthouse cinema at its finest.”Luciano (Gabriele Silli) is a wandering outcast in a small Italian village who becomes undone by alcohol, forbidden love and a bitter conflict with the prince of the region over the right of passage through an ancient gateway.