Universal put the smart money on Black Phone 2 performing well during the spooky season, as the $26.5M debut is several million north of the original’s debut. Meanwhile, Tron: Ares continued floundering in its second frame while Good Fortune failed to connect with audiences on a $6.2M despite big names like Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves.
Universal and Blumhouse’s sequel Black Phone 2 has surpassed expectations by pulling in an estimated $26.5M at #1 over the 3-Day weekend, beating the 2022 original’s $23.6M 4th place opening. The Per Screen Average was $7,769 from 3,411 locations. Grosses were bullish, partially thanks to a lack of heavy competition plus solid word of mouth via 74% Certified Fresh critical on Rotten Tomatoes, 85% audience score, and a “B” CinemaScore (the latter respectable for the horror genre).
Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $2.6M in Thursday previews (the first movie took $3M in previews)…
Audiences leaned slightly male at 53%, with a majority of ticket buyers in the 18-34 age grouping. Here’s how demographics looked, with a diverse turnout…
This represents a much-needed win for horror label Blumhouse, whose last film to open above $12M was 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s ($80M debut/$137.27M domestic). Hopefully, this bodes well for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and its December 5 bow. A lack of horror competition in October means Black Phone’s The Grabber shall reign into November.
Overseas Black Phone 2 took in $15.5M from 72 international territories, opening ahead of both the first Black Phone and Sinners in like markets. Top 3 territories were Mexico ($4.3M), UK & Ireland ($1.5M), and Brazil ($1.2M). The global total is now $42M.
Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, Good Fortune, had bad luck in its debut frame, taking in $6.2M from 2,990 screens for a PSA of $2,074. That’s below our forecasting panel’s pre-release estimates. This also marks the lowest wide/non-platform debut for star Seth Rogen after 50/50 ($8.6M opening/$35M domestic). The addition of John Wick star Keanu Reeves—currently the toast of Broadway in Waiting for Godot—as a loser angel couldn’t move the needle for this rare original big studio comedy.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $725K in Thursday previews…
Rotten Tomatoes was dead-even with 78% critical and audience score, with a solid-enough “B+” CinemaScore. At the moment, the low performance can be attributed to marketing, a restrictive R-rating, lack of youth appeal with this cast, or any number of other factors related to how difficult it is to release a comedy in theaters right now.
Disney’s Tron: Ares tumbled -66% in its sophomore frame, taking in $11.1M to place second for a $54.57M domestic total while crossing the century mark globally with $102.97M. That includes an anemic $2.8M China launch, compared to Tron: Legacy‘s $18.88M China total which it will not match. The new film should have had more awareness in the Middle Kingdom due to the Tron Lightcycle Power Run ride at Shanghai Disneyland.
Angel Studios’ WWII resistance drama Truth & Treason opened to $2.7M in 2,106 locations for a $1,292 PSA. CinemaScore was an “A,” as per usual for the faith-based studio.
The Bear star Jeremy Allen White takes his shot at Oscar glory with Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowherea biopic of The Boss from Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper. Paramount makes a bid for a fall romantic hit with the drama Regretting You from director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars). Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos re-teams once again with Emma Stone for the limited release of absurdist comedy Bugoniaa remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet! The film is currently sitting at 90% RT after extensive festival play.
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Black Phone 2 | $26,500,000 | 3,411 | $7,769 | 26,500,000 | 1 | Universal | ||
| Tron: Ares | $11,140,000 | -66% | 4,000 | n/c | $2,785 | 54,578,812 | 2 | Walt Disney |
| Good Fortune | $6,200,000 | 2,990 | $2,074 | 6,200,000 | 1 | Lionsgate | ||
| One Battle After Another | $4,000,000 | -41% | 2,532 | -595 | $1,580 | 61,909,000 | 4 | Warner Bros. |
| Roofman | $3,700,000 | -54% | 3,370 | 8 | $1,098 | 15,516,000 | 2 | Paramount Pi… |
| Truth & Treason | $2,721,265 | 2,106 | $1,292 | 2,721,265 | 1 | Angel Studios | ||
| Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie | $1,650,000 | -52% | 2,535 | -514 | $651 | 29,931,000 | 4 | Universal |
| The Conjuring: Last Rites | $1,570,000 | -50% | 1,981 | -353 | $793 | 175,439,000 | 7 | Warner Bros. |
| After the Hunt | $1,555,956 | 881% | 1,238 | #ERROR! | $1,257 | 1,772,751 | 2 | Amazon MGM S… |
| Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Infi… | $1,300,000 | -43% | 1,284 | -550 | $1,012 | 131,177,000 | 6 | Sony Pictures |
| Soul on Fire | $1,300,000 | -54% | 1,720 | n/c | $756 | 5,541,000 | 2 | Sony Pictures |
| Good Boy | $555,000 | -61% | 1,650 | n/c | $336 | 6,147,805 | 3 | IFC Entertai… |
| The Strangers: Chapter 2 | $420,000 | -74% | 1,017 | -861 | $413 | 14,646,000 | 4 | Lionsgate |
| The Long Walk | $410,000 | -61% | 651 | -553 | $630 | 34,833,000 | 6 | Lionsgate |
| The Smashing Machine | $329,751 | -82% | 819 | -2,502 | $403 | 11,121,428 | 3 | A24 |
| Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale | $280,000 | -62% | 520 | -555 | $538 | 44,776,000 | 6 | Focus Features |
| The Bad Guys 2 | $216,000 | -49% | 327 | -160 | $661 | 82,187,000 | 12 | Universal |
| If I Had Legs I’d Kick You | $171,524 | 92% | 25 | 21 | $6,861 | 308,143 | 2 | A24 |
| Him | $141,000 | -71% | 242 | -513 | $583 | 24,886,000 | 5 | Universal |
| Casper | $140,000 | -51% | 245 | -170 | $571 | 102,548,000 | 1,587 | Universal |
| The Mastermind | $104,215 | 5 | $20,843 | 104,215 | 1 | IN BAD | ||
| It Was Just an Accident | $68,021 | 3 | $22,674 | 115,000 | 1 | Neon | ||
| Blue Moon | $63,000 | 3,360 | $19 | 63,000 | 1 | Sony Picture… | ||
| Orwell: 2+2 = 5 | $48,356 | -53% | 71 | 15 | $681 | 258,167 | 3 | Neon |
| Freakier Friday | $20,000 | -69% | 80 | -20 | $250 | 94,175,960 | 11 | Walt Disney |
| The Fantastic Four: First Steps | $19,000 | -66% | 45 | -50 | $422 | 274,282,064 | 13 | Walt Disney |
| The Man Who Saves the World? | $17,000 | 2 | $8,500 | 17,000 | 1 | Area 23a | ||
| Re-Election | $12,539 | 88% | 2 | 1 | $6,270 | 19,222 | 2 | Picturehouse |
| Fuck My Son! | $8,500 | 1 | $8,500 | 8,500 | 1 | |||
| Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse | 2,670 | 3 | $890 | 54,678 | 4 | Hemdale | ||
| CatVideoFest 2025 | $440 | -88% | 1 | -2 | $440 | 1,022,024 | 12 | Oscilloscope… |
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