Help me understand.

Can't make a movie with this level of cast for $5 million. Spotlight cost $20 million. Talent costs money because they have a certain value that's set on their services. Miss Sloane cost $13 million. It's an adult drama - they don't open to big grosses, they have legs through the holidays and awards season. Assigning any value to the opening is treating it like a blockbuster (which needs opening big because of the very high cost). Loving, Moonlight, Jackie, Nocutrual Animals, Manchester by the Sea, all start with small grosses and grow over time. That's how the adult fare works. Miss Sloane opened wider faster because it had an output deal that required it to, and it just means the movie got to make more money at once than slowing climbing to 2 million over several weeks (like the others). It will reduce screens now to find its core audience since the awareness is higher from its release, the exit polling was very strong, and Chastain got a GG nod today. I hope that helps you better understands the economics of the movie business and the way films like this fare and are released.