2025 has not been a good year for Blumhouse. The Universal Pictures production entity had experienced 15 years of profitable thriller, horror, and genre-specific releases. The last 12 months were anything but, with “Wolf Man,” “The Woman in the Yard,” and “Drop” all bombing at the box office. The company’s savior was supposed to be the highly anticipated “M3GAN 2.0,” but that sequel turned out to be a serious miscalculation and one of the biggest misses of the year so far. The company’s founder and CEO, Jason Blumhouse, can breathe a bit easier today after “Black Phone 2” earned a very, very good $26 million at the domestic box office and $42 million worldwide.
The first installment in Scott Derrickson’s original horror series opened to $23 million in June 2022 and went on to earn $90 million domestic and $161 million worldwide. “Black Phone 2” brought back stars Ethan Hawke, Mason Thames, and Madeleine McGraw and pulled in an OK B Cinemascore, just under the original’s B+. The original film cost a reported $18 million. It’s unclear what the sequel’s budget was, but it was thought to be in the same range. If that’s the case, Universal and Blumhouse likely have another profitable franchise on their hands.
Also opening in wide release this weekend was Aziz Ansari’s feature directorial debut, “Good Fortune.” The Lionsgate release took in $6.2 million domestic. At a reported $30 million production budget, the comedy will need to have strong legs to get into the black, even if the mini-major sold off most territories overseas. The film got mostly positive reviews (63 on Metacritic, 77% on Rotten Tomatoes), but for a project that began filming in January 2024, the reaction from many was that it seemed somewhat dated. “Fortune” might have had better luck if it had been released a year earlier or in the first half of 2025.
Angel Studios’ set WWII drama “Truth & Treason” upon the marketplace where it took in $2.7 million in just 2,106 theaters. The late addition to the release schedule has earned an A on CinemaScore and pulled in a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes with just 13 reviews.
Luca Guadagino’s “After the Hunt” expanded to 1,300 theaters, earning $1.5 million and $1.7 million so far. It also landed an eyebrow-raising C- CinemaScore, suggesting good word-of-mouth may be near impossible. Despite critical acclaim for Julia Roberts’ performance and the presence of co-star Andrew Garfield, “Hunt” is looking like it might not even match the $7.8 million that Guadagnino’s “Bones and All” earned in 2022.
Last week’s champ, “Tron: Ares,” had a big fall, dropping 66% for another $11 million and $54.5 million domestic and $102.9 million worldwide. The Walt Disney Studios release reportedly cost $180 million.
In limited release, Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident” earned $68,021 or $22,674 per screen and $115,000 overall since opening on Wednesday. Another NEON Palme d’Or winner, the critically acclaimed drama, is hoping to have a marathon of a theatrical run as critics’ groups, guild awards, and Oscar nominations beckon in the months ahead.
Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon” also arrived in 5 theaters, taking $63,000 or a not-so-great $12,500 per screen. The Berlin Film Festival winner expands to 500 screens next week. Also coming in somewhat under the radar is Kelly Reichardt’s acclaimed period dramedy “The Mastermind,” which did much better dropping in New York and LA with $104,215 or $20,843 per.
New releases on Friday include “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” “Regretting You,” “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Rez Arc,” and, in limited release, “Bugonia.”
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