Paramount Pictures’s decision to turn Smile, which was originally meant to be a streaming-only film, into a wide theatrical release has continued to pay handsome dividends for the studio. Smile 2, the critically acclaimed sequel, managed to (narrowly) outgross its predecessor’s opening weekend, making a handsome $23 million this weekend (just slightly ahead of our predictions). With a budget in the $27 million range, that’s a solid result for what could become the studio’s first big horror franchise since the Paranormal Activity series ran out of steam some years back.
For the sequel, director Parker Finn expanded the scope, with star Naomi Scott (in an excellent performance) playing a Taylor Swift-style pop star who winds up cursed. Given the ending, Finn may return for a third film with an even broader scope, but one has to wonder how long he’ll stay committed to the franchise. He’s getting some big directing jobs (including the star-studded Possession remake) and might want to leave the franchise as is – although Paramount likely will make a third with or without him.
According to the Comscore numbers, The Wild Robot pulled ahead of Terrifier 3 for a third-place finish, making $10.1 million for a $101 million North American haul. Terrifier 3 had a good hold in its second weekend, only slipping 51%, with a $9.3 million weekend and an excellent $36 million domestic total. Given the movie cost in the single-digit millions, this franchise (check out our rankings) has been minting cash, and it will likely be one of the year’s most profitable movies.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice mania also continued this weekend. Despite being on VOD, it earned $5 million for a $283 million total, with a $300 million domestic total within reach, especially with Halloween coming up. A24’s romantic weepie We Live in Time made a strong $4.5 million despite being open on less than 1000 screens. Younger audiences are embracing this date movie, which is carried by the star power of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh.
However, star power isn’t saving Joker: Folie a Deux, which fell another massive 69% this weekend to gross only $2.1 million for an atrocious $56 million total. Rumor has it the movie might lose WB $200 million. The Lego-animated Piece By Piece, which is a documentary about Pharrell, made $2.1 million for a $7.6 million total. Poor Transformers One is winding down its run, with a $1.9 million weekend, for a total of just over $56 million. It’s too bad audiences didn’t embrace this pretty good animated prequel.
Another good movie struggling to find an audience is Saturday Night, about the early days of SNL. It lost 47% of its audience and only made $1.8 million for a domestic total of just over $7 million. Finally, the Tim Burton re-release, The Nightmare Before Christmas, made a solid $1.13 million for a $4.8 million total (to note, this only reflects the gross of the re-release).
Next weekend, we should see the first $50 million-plus opener in some time, with Sony’s latest addition to the Spider-Verse, Venom: The Last Dance, coming out. Do you think it will end the franchise with a bang? Let us know in the comments!