Propelled by a wave of early awards buzz, The Secret Agent has achieved the biggest opening for a Brazilian film in the United States—ever. In an extremely limited release by NEON, and playing in just two theaters in New York City over the Thanksgiving holiday, the film became a bona fide box-office smash.
Starring Wagner Moura and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, The Secret Agent grossed an impressive $71,000 over the Thanksgiving five-day opening and $46,000 across the three-day weekend, resulting in an extraordinary $35,000 per-theater average over the long holiday frame. For a two-theater release at Film at Lincoln Center and the Angelika Film Center in New York City, these numbers are nothing short of remarkable.
This performance not only marks a historic moment for Brazilian cinema in the U.S. but also shatters longstanding records. The film surpassed the previous benchmark set by Oscar-winning I’m Still Here by Walter Salles, which achieved a $25,000 per-theater average across five theaters. It also surpassed the openings of two iconic titles often referenced as milestones for Brazilian films in the American market: Central Station, also by Salles, which recorded a $17,900 per-theater average in November 1998, and City of God by Fernando Meirelles, which posted $17,600 in January 2003.
Set in 1977, The Secret Agent follows a widower who arrives in Recife, a city as vibrant as it is violent. A technology researcher, he suddenly becomes an unwitting target in the heart of the dictatorship’s political maelstrom. On the run from mercenary killers, haunted by ghosts of the past, and confronting the ruthless, mischievously militant spirit of the city, his primary goal is to escape Brazil with his young son. With the help of a mysterious woman and her compatriots in the growing underground resistance, he navigates a tense, unpredictable world of danger and deception.
More than two decades after those landmark releases, The Secret Agent arrives as a reminder that international cinema can still cut through the noise of a crowded marketplace, even with minimal screens. Its explosive debut demonstrates both the film’s potent appeal and the growing appetite for bold, politically charged storytelling that resonates across borders. With awards season heating up, and with Moura’s performance already earning widespread acclaim, The Secret Agent ’s historic opening may be only the beginning of its U.S. trajectory.
The film opens this Friday, December 5, at the AMC Century 15 in Los Angeles, expanding to other top markets including San Francisco and Boston the following weekend, and then opening nationally on January 9.
