Horror sequel tops charts on opening weekend

“Smile 2” grossed a healthy $23 million on its opening weekend, easily placing it at the top of the otherwise sleepy North American box office charts.

The R-rated sequel to Paramount's spooky psychological thriller “Smile” debuted on par with expectations and even the original film, grossing $22.6 million in 2022. Sleeper grossed $105 million domestically and $217 worldwide million US dollars. The follow-up film also opened with $23 million overseas, giving it a worldwide opening of $46 million.

Parker Finn returned to direct Smile 2, which cost $28 million. Naomi Scott plays a pop singer who experiences a series of disturbing events while on tour. The film was well received by audiences, receiving a grade of “B” on CinemaScore, improving on the first film's “B-” grade.

“Horror series are one of those genres that are harder to sustain over multiple episodes,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “That’s what makes this (opening) particularly good.”

“Smile 2” was the only new release nationwide this weekend, although several titles opened at the box office. A24's tearful romantic drama “We Live in Time” debuted impressively in fifth place with $4.1 million from just 955 theaters. The film, which stars Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh as a young couple in unenviable circumstances, has grossed $4.5 million so far after a one-weekend limited run. Young women were the main ticket buyers, 85% of whom were under 35 and 70% female.

“A highly engaging cast, a funny, moving and romantic plot with a touch of the legendary A24 magic made 'We Live in Time' a breakout indie hit,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior Comscore analyst.

Another newcomer, Sean Baker's Palme d'Or-winning “Anora,” has collected $540,000 from just six theaters in Los Angeles and New York City. That equates to $90,000 per location and is the best screen average – the key metric for platform releases – of the year, according to its distributor Neon. It also scored the second-highest screen average of the post-pandemic era, behind Wes Anderson's “Asteroid City,” and was in the top five of the last half-decade alongside “Parasite,” “Uncut Gems” and “The Favorite.” The film, a comical look at an exotic dancer and sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, will continue to expand its presence this fall and looks set to land in the awards race.

“Amid much Oscar hype and critical acclaim, 'Anora' debuts to a tremendous pre-theater average that reflects the interest shown to this contender for the top honors season,” added Dergarabedian.

Elsewhere, Joker: Folie à Deux plunged to No. 6 in its third weekend of release, collecting $2.18 million from 2,857 venues. The follow-up to 2019's billion-dollar hit “Joker” has become a box office disaster after three weekends on the big screen, with $56.4 million domestic and $192 million worldwide. In comparison, the original Joker had grossed $96.2 million domestically and $248.4 million worldwide in its opening weekend. Warner Bros.'s $200 million sequel won't make anywhere near that kind of revenue when it hits theaters.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” another Warner Bros. tentpole that opened four weeks before “Joker 2,” came in fourth with $5 million from 3,251 locations. Tim Burton's Beetlejuice sequel has remained in the top five of the domestic charts for seven consecutive weekends and has grossed a whopping $283 million in North America and $434.6 million worldwide to date.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation's “The Wild Robot” remained in second place with $10 million in its fourth weekend of release. So far, the highly acclaimed family film has grossed $101.7 million domestically and around $160 million worldwide.

Last weekend's surprise winner, “Terrifier 3,” brought in $9.1 million for its second film, down 52% from its debut. The extremely gory, low-budget slasher film grossed a total of $36 million. The third “Terrifier” installment — each about the demonic Art the Clown brutalizing a small town — has already surpassed the total worldwide sales of its 2022 predecessor “Terrifier 2,” which grossed $10 million domestically and worldwide Grossed $15.7 million.

Around the same time last year, theater owners were struggling with shorter release calendars as studios delayed production of major films due to strikes by actors and writers. Still, domestic box office is down 11.4% from the same point in 2023 and 26.8% from 2019, according to Comscore. So upcoming titles like “Venom: The Last Dance” (Oct. 25), “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” (Nov. 22) and “Moana 2” (Nov. 27) have to save the fall season.