‘If I Go Will They Miss Me’ passes $1 million in five weeks

By Elena Vasquez

“If I Go Will They Miss Me” passed $1 million at the domestic box office in five weeks, playing on no more than 251 screens. IndieWire reported that the film’s print-and-advertising spend was well below $1 million. Distributor Rich Spirit centered the release on a filmmaker with an established audience and an underserved story.

Months after its premiere in the NEXT section at Sundance 2026, the film had found a greater audience than director Walter Thompson-Hernandez or Rich Spirit had imagined, Shani said. James Shani, Rich Spirit’s founder, will open the film for PVOD rental on October 23 and keep it in selected independent theaters for longer, citing demand and word of mouth.

How did Rich Spirit build the audience?

Before Rich Spirit became its distributor, Thompson-Hernandez was developing title treatments and marketing ideas. He had already identified his audience and built a follower base. Rich Spirit later leveraged Thompson-Hernandez’s standing as a noted journalist and photographer to reach those existing followers.

Rich Spirit first opened the film on one Los Angeles screen, taking $39,000. The distributor called that a strong per-screen average. It grossed another $336,000 in its second weekend, then played selected art houses and AMC Century City while reporting a healthy revenue split between independents and major chains.

According to IndieWire, Thompson-Hernandez shot the film in Los Angeles, where the city functions as a character. Rich Spirit’s internal “Obama Strategy” targeted Black communities in Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, and other underserved markets. Some screenings continued in those markets. IndieWire said other indies have tried the model with mixed results.

Rich Spirit’s opening shows how a narrow screen count can coexist with targeted outreach and strong revenue per screen.

What did Shani see in the audience?

Shani called the film “undeniable” after seeing it at Sundance. He said it had a clear African American-forward audience that the box office often underserves, while other companies were not taking bets on these kinds of movies.

“I really believed that this story and this this movie was specific and nuanced, and what Walter and the team have made is something that takes stories and takes circumstances that aren’t painted with the traditional tropes,” Shani told IndieWire.

IndieWire describes a film starring J. Alphonse Nicholson and Danielle Brooks. It follows a 12-year-old boy seeking to reconnect with his estranged father after prison. Fatherhood and community drive the story; surreal turns and visions sustain its theatrical attention.

Shani said the film struck a chord with viewers and described numerous TikTok videos showing people leaving theaters in tears and urging others to see it.

“The way that this story is crafted I think breaks people open in a way that they didn’t necessarily expect but then leaves them with some hope,” Shani said.

Shani believes independent-film success metrics must evolve. Rich Spirit’s internal figures put social-media awareness above 5 million, including people who had not seen the film in theaters. He treats that reach and word of mouth as a positive sign for digital demand.

The social audience is already larger than the theatrical footprint.

How does the result compare with other Sundance films?

IndieWire compared the $1 million result with some studio films surpassing $100 million in the post-COVID era. It contrasted that scale with Sundance films such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Napoleon Dynamite,” which once delivered substantial theatrical returns. Streamers now account for most large sales while often keeping tiny indies out of theaters. The publication said few recent festival finds reach theaters, and fewer still approach these figures.

IndieWire’s festival results provide four useful comparisons:

• “Union County”: A U.S. Dramatic competition title this year starring Will Poulter and Noah Centineo. Oscilloscope released it this summer, and it grossed $190,000.
• “The Musical”: Rob Lowe’s competition title earned $224,000 for Blue Harbor Entertainment.
• “The Incomer”: Domhnall Gleeson stars in this NEXT premiere, which exceeded $1 million. Shani described it as more genre-driven than “If I Go Will They Miss Me.”
• “Exhibiting Forgiveness”: Shani said it reached a similar audience and played in theaters throughout October for roughly five weeks in 2024. Roadside Attractions opened it on more than 700 theaters, where it grossed $506,000, about half of “If I Go”’s current total.

On IndieWire’s figures, the smaller rollout produced the stronger result.

What comes next for the film and Rich Spirit?

Rich Spirit now wants to serve the film’s audience on PVOD, develop a merchandising strategy, and support Thompson-Hernandez’s next project. The distributor also plans to search the upcoming Sundance festival for another title it can champion.

For Rich Spirit, “If I Go Will They Miss Me” is its third title. The others are “BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions” and “The Apprentice,” the Donald Trump biopic that Shani salvaged and released under circumstances far different from those surrounding “If I Go.” He plans to return to Sundance for another film.

“To me, this is a a first feature that, if we could do our job well enough, sets Walter off to do whatever he wants to do next. And I think he’s already doing that,” Shani said.

Rich Spirit’s next test is whether reported awareness among more than 5 million social-media users converts into digital rentals, while its next Sundance discovery supplies another title for the same model.