One of the bright spots during a dreary weekend for Hollywood was the strong performance of the sexually explicit drama “Shame.”

A grim portrait of a sex addict starring Michael Fassbender, with Carey Mulligan as his needy sister, “Shame” opened strongly with $361,181 at 10 theaters in six cities, including Chicago. “Shame” expands to six more cities Friday.

It was the highest location average of the weekend.

“Shame” is the latest film angling to lure moviegoers despite an NC-17 rating that prohibits anyone younger than 17 from seeing it.

Some fans and theaters equate the NC-17 tag with pornography, but serious films with that rating occasionally break through and find an audience. Fox Searchlight is positioning “Shame” for Academy Awards attention after the film earned Fassbender the best-actor prize at the Venice Film Festival.

AP

via No ‘Shame’ for NC-17 film – Chicago Sun-Times.