Weekend Box Office: Paramount has lots to Smile about

In a bit of a surprise, Smile actually gained momentum on Saturday pulling in $8.6 Million on its way to a $22 Million opening, in spite of its B- Cinemascore. That is a massive win for Paramount as the film has covered its entire production budget of $17 Million in just one weekend. That’s about $2 million more than we predicted. What do we learn with this opening? Never underestimate a horror film. Audiences like to be creeped out in a dark theater amongst strangers. But also, good marketing sells tickets. The fact that the studio’s marketing department strategically placed actors at baseball stadiums across the country and had them stare eerily at the camera while wearing shirts that said the films title was a stroke of genius. Whoever came up with that concept should get a raise! The good news going forward for this movie is that October just started and as we get closer to Halloween, audiences will be clamoring for a spooky time at the theater. That said, Halloween Ends will likely dominate the box office as far as horror flicks go.

Coming in second place is the Florence Pugh-fronted film Don’t Worry Darling. It lost 62% of its audience with a $7.3 Million second weekend take. With a reported $35 Million budget before marketing costs (which I can’t imagine were that much considering all the free press this movie got) there is still a bit of an uphill climb before it can be considered a profitable endeavor for the studio. International audiences are not really flocking to this one either with slightly over $10 Million added to its domestic total of $32 Million.

Continuing its successful run in third place is the Viola Davis fronted The Woman King with $7 Million and a domestic total of $46.7 Million. Boasting just a 36% drop from last weekend, this one continues to have solid word of mouth with audiences saying it is a film that demands the big screen experience.

This weekend’s other big release, Universal’s Bros bombed coming in 4th place with just $4.8 Million. This well reviewed romantic comedy (currently with 91% on Rotten Tomatoes) just didn’t find the audience it was looking for. I do appreciate the studio sticking to a theatrical release for this one as I’m sure going directly to streaming was an option at some point. The good news for Bros is that it had a very modest $22 Million budget which with good word of mouth (with an A Cinemascore rating) it can recoup its budget (possibly) before heading to streaming where this theatrical release will serve as a great piece of marketing for it. I get the feeling in the years to come, Bros will find its audience and stand tall in the pantheon of underperforming romantic comedies. 

Rounding out the top 5 is the re-release of Avatar pulling in nearly $4.7 Million in its second (or 667th) week of release. I was able to catch it last week in Imax 3D and it really did get me amped up for Avatar: The Way of Water especially after seeing the mid-credits scene from the sequel that featured some of the best 3D I have ever seen.

Coming in 6th place is the Indian epic Ponniyin Selvan: Part One with $4.1 Million. That number puts it right on pace with India’s previous effort Brahmāstra: Part One- Shiva from a few weeks back. Boasting the best per theater average of the weekend (at just 500 locations the film garnered $8,260 per screen) these Bollywood epics have become a staple at the domestic box office as they time and again prove that no matter when they are released, the audience will be there.

Rounding out the top 10 are the excellent horror film Barbarian with $2.8 Million followed by Brad Pitt’s Bullet Train finally crossing that magical $100 Million mark with a $1.4 Million weekend take as DC’s League of Super Pets shows its staying power with a $1.3 Million weekend as it nears the $100 million mark with Top Gun: Maverick finally showing signs of slowing down in 10th place and a $1.2 Million weekend. 

With the box office heating back up again as Smile becomes the first film to open over $20 Million in over a month, it seems there is no better time to ask what upcoming 2022 movie are you most looking forward to? And don’t forget to check back with us on Thursday when we give our predictions for next weekend’s box office including Amsterdam from David O’ Russell and a movie starring a singing crocodile named Lyle!