>> especially the arthouse theaters where a movie like that is likely to play <<
There's the mistake in your logic. This is being shown at most of the largest theaters in the nation. The sort of movies that are shown in "arthouse" theaters in mid-America are shown in flagship theaters in downtowns of major cities.
And actually, even if it wasn't a good average, whomever posed this thread jumped the gun, because the average over the weekend grew to $34 thousand per theater, which is insanely good.
Although I do admit, the average being that high does mean you are right that most of them probably arn't art-house theaters.
Conservatives really need to stop being so insanely narrow when it comes to art. You don't have to think 'Piss Christ' is a great work of art to have tastes that are bigger then movies about Jesus or Harry Potter, and just because you like strange art films and poetry readings doesn't mean that those same people want government in their pocket and that they don't want the country defended against radical islam. The fact that people are rallying, in vain I may add, against this movie merely because it's about gay people is insanely stupid. We alienate a big chunk of libertarian-leaning types in artistic communities because of crap like this.