WAITRESS THE MUSICAL Live Capture Makes Box Office Top 10

The live capture of Waitress: the Musical made it into the top 10 at the box office over the weekend.

Deadline reports that the film came in at #8 at the domestic box office, passing an estimated $3.2 million during its opening weekend. The film played on 1,214 screens in the U.S. and Canada.

Based on the original film by Adrienne Shelly, Waitress the Musical features composer-lyricist Bareilles as Jenna Hunterson. It began its nationwide special-event screenings through Bleecker Street and Fathom Events on December 7. It is now running in theaters through December 13. It is also now available to pre-order on iTunes to watch at home. 

The film was directed by Brett Sullivan, for the stage by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus, with Jessie Nelson as creative advisor. Waitress: The Musical also stars Eric Anderson, Charity Angél Dawson, Christopher Fitzgerald, Drew Gehling, Caitlin Houlahan, Dakin Matthews and Joe Tippett. 

The film was shot during the musical's return engagement to Broadway in 2021, following the Broadway shutdown.

"We've shot this two years ago. We did it completely independently, got financing and we didn't work with a big studio. This has all been very handmade and very bespoke and a total labor of love," Bareilles recently said to BroadwayWorld, calling the show the "great love" of her life.

Debuting in April 2016, Waitress was the first Broadway musical in history to have four women in the top creative team spots, with a book by Jessie Nelson, music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, choreography by Lorin Latarro and direction by Diane Paulus.

The design team features sets by Tony Award-winner Scott Pask, costumes by Suttirat Anne Larlarb, lighting by Tony Award-winner Ken Billington, and sound by Tony Award-nominee Jonathan Deans. Music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo.

Watch the trailer for the Waitress the Musical film here: