Body swap takes the top!
Another bleak pandemic weekend for North American theaters had the new horror movie FREAKY easily slashing into first place with an estimated opening of $3.7 million.
Directed by Christopher Landon (HAPPY DEATH DAY), the R-rated thriller finds a high-school girl (Kathryn Newton) switching bodies with Vince Vaughn's serial killer known as the Blissfield Butcher.
As usual for the company, the Blumhouse production was made on a modest budget, with a cost of $6 million. Universal released the dark comedy (on FREAKY Friday the 13th) onto 2470 screens.
Critics seemed to think the movie was a bloody good time, with an average of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 66 on Metacritic. Take a stab at the JoBlo review HERE.
Moving to second place was the Kevin Costner/Diane Lane thriller LET HIM GO with $1.8 million. The R-rated drama dropped by 55% from its opening last weekend for a ten-day domestic total of $6.9 million.
The tenacious Robert De Niro prank comedy THE WAR WITH GRANDPA was again in third place with $1.3 million on its sixth weekend on screens, bringing the PG-rated release to a domestic total of $15.2 million.
In fourth place was the supernatural horror movie COME PLAY with $1.1 million over its third weekend. The PG-13 thriller has a domestic total of $7.3 million.
The crime drama HONEST THIEF was in fifth place with $800,000, giving the PG-13 Liam Neeson thriller a domestic total of $12.4 million and a worldwide total of $20 million worldwide after six weeks.
Christopher Nolan's PG-13 sci-fi thriller TENET was in sixth place with $735,000, now up to a domestic total of $56.3 million and over $350 million worldwide.
Disney keeps digging through their extensive catalog for random re-releases, this time thrusting the PG-13 space adventure GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY back onto 1560 screens to add an extra $406,000 to its total.
Originally opening to unexpected success in 2014, writer-director James Gunn's oddball Marvel comic adaptation now has a domestic total of $333.5 million and $770.7 millon worldwide.
Following TRUE TO THE GAME 2 in eighth place with $288,000 on its second weekend, another Disney repeat was in ninth as the G-rated Pixar comedy TOY STORY collected $222,000 for a running domestic total of $192.5 million (unadjusted for inflation).
Closing out the Top 10 was another reissue, delivering an early dose of Christmas cheer with the Will Ferrell comedy ELF in 288 theaters for $170,000. The Jon Favreau-directed holiday favorite has a $174.8 million domestic total from its 2003 release.
The future theatrical release schedule continues to remain in a state of flux, with recent rumors of the planned wide Christmas Day release for WONDER WOMAN 1984 reportedly instead shrinking to a limited release before a January launch on Warner Bros.' streaming service HBO MAX.
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| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freaky | $3.7 M | NEW |
| 2 | Let Him Go | $1.8 M | $6.8 M |
| 3 | The War with Grandpa | $1.3 M | $15.2 M |
| 4 | Come Play | $1.1 M | $7.3 M |
| 5 | Honest Thief | $800 k | $12.4 M |
| 6 | Tenet | $735 k | $56.3 M |
| 7 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $406 k | $333.7 M |
| 8 | True to the Game 2 | $288 k | $611 k |
| 9 | Toy Story | $222 k | $223.5 M |
| 10 | Elf | $170 k | $174.6 M |