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Kim Hollis: The Gift, a movie from upstart distributor STX that was directed and written by Joel Edgerton, earned $11.9 million this weekend. What do you think of this result?

Matthew Huntley: This is terrific start for a movie that reportedly cost just $5 million to produce (and probably another $20 million to market). With its stellar reviews (I'm about to submit a positive one myself) and strong word-of-mouth, I think it's well on its way to profitability. Hopefully this will allow writer-director Joel Edgerton, who proves to be a natural when it comes to filmmaking, to secure more projects in the future; so far, he shows he's got what it takes to make a good one.

Ben Gruchow: I'm just happy it outgrossed The Gallows, since it wasn't forecast to do so. I hope this encourages Blumhouse to use their estimable talent with shepherding small independent genre films to profitability (and to higher visibility for their directors) for projects more like this one. This was a movie made with considerable skill at the directing, writing, and acting levels, and it deserves a good run.

Felix Quinonez: I think this is a great opening relative to its budget. It will be a nice, small hit and help everyone involved.

Ryan Kyle: This is a fantastic opening for being a new distributor's first major theatrical release. Looking back at the first wide releases of recent young companies such as Summit, A24, and FilmDistrict, The Gift ranks among the top openings from all of them. It is also a nice change of pace for Blumhouse, fronting up money to make a quality thriller using their low-risk model as opposed to a crappy no-name slasher flick. The film skews older and played evenly throughout the weekend, so a nice pair of legs should be in order with a final upwards of $30 million and possibly verging on $40 million given the $7,300 per theater average (assuming STX pushes the theater count from 1648 in the upcoming weeks). I wouldn't be surprised if The Gift's tight trailers stole a few million from Ricki and the Flash, as it was similarly gunning for adult dollars.

Edwin Davies: This is great, not merely in terms of the budget and the fact it's from a new distributor, but also in terms of the genre. The psychological thriller is a type of film that has fallen by the wayside since the turn of the millennium, and The Gift could have fallen victim to that general trend. Instead, it managed to surpass expectations through its quality, and the fact that it offers something a little different for people who are tired of blockbusters and are looking to the more modest pleasures of awards season.

Michael Lynderey: I also thought it would have good legs, but I'm not so sure anymore. Blumhouse films typically drop big in their second weekend, even if they're good, and the Cinemascore The Gift received was only a "B" (I would have ranked it higher, of course). It's interesting that the movie started filming in January of this year, but it's out so soon, and with great critical notices, too. That's an enjoyably old school span between production and release times.

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