This weekend at the box office was full of surprises. Some of them were good, as with the two big holdovers from last weekend. However, as with “First Man,” many of the surprises over this three-day period are not exactly what people were expecting.
First, we have to talk about the two films that topped the box office last weekend and repeated again this weekend. “Venom,” which shattered the three-day weekend record in its opening frame, held on better than many anticipated in its second weekend and earned an estimated $35.7 million. Superhero films, and big blockbusters in general, normally see second-weekend drops over 60%, but with the first major surprise today, it was reported that “Venom” only suffered a 55.5% drop. Negative reviews be damned, “Venom,” which has grossed $378 million worldwide so far, is officially a hit for Sony and its blossoming Spider-Verse.
Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” was always expected to have a great hold weekend to weekend and the film didn’t disappoint. Dropping only 34.7% in its second weekend, the musical drama earned an estimated $28 million in its second frame. As anticipated, ‘Star’ has connected with general audiences and this hold proves that the Cooper/Lady Gaga film is poised to be a major player as the fall box office continues.
As for the big debuts this weekend, the news isn’t so hot. Surprising many, Damien Chazelle’s highly-anticipated Neil Armstrong biopic, “First Man,” which wowed critics at its Venice Film Festival premiere, debuted below expectations with an estimated $16.5 million. Analysts had guessed the Ryan Gosling space film could go anywhere from $17 to $20 million with the chance it could do much higher. But in this crowded field, and with “A Star is Born” taking some of its audience, “First Man” opened softer than many expected. Now, Universal has to bank on good legs for this film, as it attempts to recoup its $60 million budget in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, the competition is only getting more difficult, as the prestige fall films begin to make their debuts.
“Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween” debuted three years after the original film and hoped that counter-programming would allow the children’s movie to rise above the pack. Unfortunately, a crowded marketplace is just a crowded marketplace and ‘Goosebumps 2’ earned only $16.225 million in its opening frame for a decent 4th place showing (could actually get to 3rd when actual totals are released on Monday). The film, which is the sequel to 2015’s surprise hit, opened over $6 million less than the first film. However, with a production budget reportedly at $35 million (over $20 million less than the original ‘Goosebumps’), the sequel doesn’t have as much of a hill to climb to profitability. We’ll have to keep an eye on the film to see if it finds its intended children’s audience or if it gets lost in the shuffle.
As if these two major holdovers and two massive debut films weren’t enough, this weekend also saw the debut of Drew Goddard’s latest film, “Bad Times at the El Royale.” This stylish action/thriller was clearly the victim of overpopulation, as it debuted at #7 with an estimated $7.225 million. With an all-star cast and interesting marketing, Fox hoped the millennial/young adult crowd would come out to support this R-rated film. However, with the aforementioned films, there’s only so much time and money audiences have to spend. Sadly, even with a modest $32 million budget, ‘El Royale’ has an uphill battle as it attempts to get in the black.
As for those films that could be factors moving forward, “The Hate U Give” and “Beautiful Boy” are both making strong statements on small amounts of screens. At #9, “The Hate U Give” expanded to 248 screens and pulled in $1.8 million. As it continues to expand its run and gains more and more word of mouth, this could be a surprise hit this season. However, the news gets even better with “Beautiful Boy.” The Steve Carell/Timothée Chalamet addiction drama is expected to be an awards contender this season and opened in only 4 theaters, earning an incredible $55,359 per theater average. This bodes well as the drama begins its expansion in the coming weeks.
Next weekend is going to further complicate matters for the top 10 as David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” makes its debut. The sequel/reboot to John Carpenter’s classic 1978 film is expected to debut anywhere between $50 and $60 million (with the potential for more). We’ll have to keep an eye on the holdovers to see which films suffer the worst fate at the hands of Michael Myers. Next week also sees “The Hate U Give” expand wide, which could just further add to the crowded top 10.
Here’s the full top 10 for October 12 to 14:
1. Venom — $35.7M ($142.8M Overall)
2. A Star is Born — $28M ($94M)
3. First Man — $16.5 (Debut)
4. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween — $16.225M (Debut)
5. Smallfoot — $9.3M ($57.6M)
6. Night School — $8M ($59.8M)
7. Bad Times at the El Royale — $7.225M (Debut)
8. The House with a Clock in Its Walls — $4M ($62M)
9. The Hate U Give — $1.765M ($2.5M)
10. A Simple Favor — $1.4M ($52M)
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