Chasing $50 Million, Midnight in Paris Set to Expand Again

Word just over the transom at Movieline HQ has announced Sony Pictures Classics’ plans to give Midnight in Paris one final push to end the summer, expanding the film once again over 1,000 screens as it pursues the $50 million milestone — by far the best domestic gross ever for a Woody Allen film. Paris is actually likely to cross that threshold sometime in the next 24 to 48 hours; it had reached $49.8 million by the time the sun rose this morning, and on Monday, it dipped below a six-figure daily gross ($98,766) for the first time since the week it opened — when it was on six screens. Today Paris occupies 328 screens, but that will go up to around 500 under Sony Classics’ expansion plan set for Aug. 26. Its previous peak came the week of June 17, when it held down 1,038 screens for a total gross of $7.5 million. The burning question now: Can Paris reach $60 million domestic to go with its $33 million (and counting) internationally? That’s the obvious goal, and why not? All the more loot to spend on the Oscar campaign. [Figures via Box Office Mojo]