Awards hopeful “The Imitation Game” exploded at the specialty box office this weekend, averaging $120,000 in four theaters.

That's the second-best limited opening of the year, behind only “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which averaged more than $202,000 in its four-theater debut in March.  

Lomis said the plan was to stay in four theaters next weekend as well, then expand to nationwide on Dec. 12. It's the same sort of rollout plan that TWC employed with "The Artist" and “The King's Speech,” both of which went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The Morten Tyldum-directed drama, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley , took in $480,000 from four locations in New York and Los Angeles for the Weinstein Company.