#1 = Five Nights at Freddy’s
Hitting theaters right before Halloween, Universal’s horror video game adaptation exceeded all expectations with an $78.0M opening, despite a day-and-date release strategy that had it debuting simultaneously in cinemas and streaming on Peacock.
Here are a few measurements to reflect just how impressive that is.
#1 Halloween weekend record
This marks by far the top Halloween weekend of all time, whether opening or for a holdover title. For 12 years now, the record had been held by 2011’s Puss in Boots opening with $34.0M. This more than doubles that, at 2.3x.
Another way of putting that in perspective: Freddy’s earned the top Halloween weekend after Friday only, earning $39.7M through that point.
(Most of the top 10 Halloween weekends ever are indeed horror films—though not all of them, as Puss in Boots clearly reflects.)
#3 horror opening ever
Freddy’s earns the #3 horror debut of all time, behind only:
- 2017’s It = $123.4M
- 2019’s It: Chapter Two = $91.0M
Freddy’s also marks the best PG-13 horror opening ever: +55% above the previous record, 2018’s A Quiet Place with $50.2M.
(The prior PG-13 record arguably belongs to 2001’s The Mummy Returns, though only if you consider that a horror film rather than an action/adventure.)
Destroys other current horror films
After only its opening weekend, Freddy’s has already out-earned the cumulative totals of the other main horror films currently in the marketplace:
- The Exorcist: Believer = now $59.3M after four frames
- Saw X = now $50.2M after five frames
The Freddy’s opening also almost equals the total for The Nun II, now at $85.8M after eight frames. Freddy’s will overtake that on a weekday later this week, perhaps as soon as Monday or Tuesday.
#5 October weekend
Freddy’s also marks the #5 October weekend of all time, in any genre, behind only:
- 2019’s Joker: $96.2M
- 2023’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour = $92.8M
- 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage = $90.0M
- 2018’s Venom: $80.2M
#2 day-and-date weekend
Freddy’s earns the #2 day-and-date opening, coming only -3% behind 2021’s Black Widow (which debuted in theaters and on Disney+) with $80.3M.
This also marks the third consecutive year Universal has released a major horror film day-and-date in October, but Freddy’s starts far higher than those other two:
- +57% above 2021’s Halloween Kills: $49.4M
- +94% above 2022’s Halloween Ends: $40.0M
Universal also claims in a Sunday press release that Freddy’s marks the most-watched debut for a film on Peacock, though as is usually the case for streaming releases, they didn’t provide exact numbers.
Audience demographics
The Freddy’s audience was an estimated 40% Hispanic versus 36% white.
It was also 81% younger than 25 and 58% male, with opening weekend audiences giving the film an “A-” CinemaScore.
Overseas / global
Freddy’s opens to $52.6M overseas and $130.6M globally, or 40% overseas.
This marks the top horror global opening of 2023 so far, +48% above The Nun II with $88.1M.
Top five market totals to date are:
- Mexico: $10.8M
- U.K. $6.2M
- Brazil: $3.9M
- Australia: $3.7M
- Germany: $2.6M
Major markets yet to release include Spain, Italy, France, South Korea, and Japan.
#2 = Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
In its third frame, the AMC Theatres Distribution / Variance Films concert documentary event fell -56% to $14.7M.
The movie already became the highest-grossing concert film of all time after its opening weekend alone and last weekend became the first-ever concert film to lead the box office for two weekends.
With $149.3M total, it’s already the #16 film of calendar year 2023 and is potentially poised to finish in the year-end top 10, which would make it the first concert film ever to do so.
#3 = Killers of the Flower Moon
Last weekend, the historical drama from Apple Studios, with Paramount distributing, opened with $23.2M in second place. Now in its sophomore frame, it falls a steep -61% to $9.0M.
That’s far steeper than any of the wide-release sophomore drops for the five prior Martin Scorsese / Leonardo DiCaprio collaborations:
- 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street: -28% (though its debut weekend was deflated after opening midweek on a Wednesday)
- 2006’s The Departed: -29%
- 2002’s Gangs of New York: -33%
- 2004’s The Aviator: -34%
- 2010’s Shutter Island: -45%
It’s also notably steeper than the sophomore drops for other DiCaprio films from the past dozen years:
- 2016’s The Revenant: -20%
- 2010’s Inception: -32%
- 2012’s Django Unchained: -34%
- 2011’s J. Edgar: -47%
- 2019’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: -51%
- 2013’s The Great Gatsby: -52%
It’s also far steeper than the sophomore drop for Scorsese’s prior theatrical release, 2016’s Silence: -41%.
Versus some other comparable adult-skewing dramas released in October during the 2010s, Moon also falls notably steeper than:
- 2014’s Gone Girl: -30%
- 2010’s The Social Network: -31%
- 2018’s A Star is Born: -34%
- 2013’s Captain Phillips: -36%
- 2014’s Fury: -44%
- 2019’s Ford v. Ferrari: -50%
- 2021’s House of Gucci: -51%
Overseas / global
This weekend, Moon declined -36% in overseas holdover markets, substantially milder than its -61% domestic drop.
Moon has now earned $47.4M overseas and $88.0M globally, or 54% overseas.
Top five market totals to date are:
- U.K. $6.8M
- France: $5.3M
- Germany: $3.6M
- Spain: $2.9M
- Australia: $2.7M
#4 = After Death
Coming off the heels of this summer’s smash hit Sound of Freedom, faith-based distributor Angel Studios opened their new documentary in fourth place with $5.0M.
Comparisons are few and far between here, since virtually all wide release faith-based projects are narrative films, not documentaries.
Still, After opened only -8% behind Angel Studios’ March drama His Only Son with $5.5M, despite its ostensibly less mainstream genre.
#5 = The Exorcist: Believer
Universal’s horror sequel The Exorcist: Believer declines only -46% to $3.1M.
That’s a notably milder drop than any of the other horror (or horror-adjacent) films in the marketplace this weekend, including:
- Saw X = -53%
- Disney’s animated The Nightmare Before Christmas 30th anniversary re-release = also -53%
- A Haunting in Venice = -63%
- The Nun II = -70%
- Haunted Mansion = -85%
Overseas / global
This weekend, Believer declined -50% in overseas holdover markets, slightly steeper than its -46% domestic drop.
Believer has now earned $61.0M overseas and $120.3M globally, or 50.6% overseas.
Top five market totals to date are:
- Mexico: $8.9M
- U.K. $6.4M
- France: $4.6M
- Spain: $3.4M
- Italy: $3.1M
Major markets yet to release include Japan.
Limited releases
Focus Features’ The Holdovers opened with $200K in six theaters. That estimated $33,333 per-screen average ranks #8 of 2023 so far.
A24’s Priscilla also opened in limited release, with $133K in four theaters. That estimated $33,035 per-screen average ranks #9 of 2023 so far, just below The Holdovers.
Weekend comparisons
Total box office this weekend came in around $121.0M.
Here’s how this weekend compares to last weekend, the same weekend last year, and the same weekend in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019:
|
Weekend |
Total |
This weekend is: |
Leader |
|
Last weekend |
$84.0M |
+44% |
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, second frame = $33.2M |
|
Same weekend in 2022 |
$67.8M |
+78% |
Black Adam, second frame: $27.4M |
|
Same weekend in 2019 |
$107.5M |
+12% |
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, second frame = $19.3M |
YTD comparisons
Year-to-date box office stands around $7.59B.
Through the equivalent point, here’s how that compares to last year and the last pre-pandemic year of 2019:
|
Year |
YTD total |
2023 YTD now: |
After last weekend: |
Trend |
|
2022 |
$6.00B |
+26.3% |
+25.7% |
Up |
|
2019 |
$9.18B |
-17.3% |
-17.7% |
Up |
Top distributors
Grouped by parent company, the YTD leaders are:
- Disney + 20th Century + Searchlight + Star: $1.72B
- Universal + Focus Features: $1.68B
- Warner Bros.: $1.15B
- Sony Pictures + Sony Classics + Crunchyroll: $867.1M
- Paramount: $807.9M
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:
| Title | Estimated weekend | % change | Locations | Location change | Average | Total | Weekend | Distributor |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s | $78,000,000 | 3,675 | $21,224 | $78,000,000 | 1 | Universal | ||
| Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | $14,700,000 | -56% | 3,773 | -82 | $3,896 | $149,364,861 | 3 | AMC Theatres Distribution + Variance |
| Killers of the Flower Moon | $9,000,000 | -61% | 3,632 | 4 | $2,478 | $40,679,000 | 2 | Paramount |
| After Death | $5,060,815 | 2,645 | $1,913 | $5,060,815 | 1 | Angel Studios | ||
| The Exorcist: Believer | $3,100,000 | -46% | 2,717 | -606 | $1,141 | $59,365,830 | 4 | Universal |
| PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie | $2,150,000 | -51% | 2,746 | -618 | $783 | $59,212,000 | 5 | Paramount |
| Freelance | $2,060,000 | 2,057 | $1,001 | $2,060,000 | 1 | Relativity | ||
| The Nightmare Before Christmas | $2,000,000 | -53% | 2,185 | 535 | $915 | Disney | ||
| Saw X | $1,685,000 | -53% | 2,141 | -615 | $787 | $50,296,927 | 5 | Lionsgate |
| The Creator | $1,000,000 | -63% | 1,685 | -805 | $593 | $38,845,081 | 5 | 20th Century Studios [Disney] |
| Anatomy of a Fall | $565,000 | 271% | 262 | 248 | $2,156 | $967,637 | 3 | Neon |
| A Haunting in Venice | $424,000 | -63% | 785 | -815 | $540 | $41,881,416 | 7 | 20th Century Studios [Disney] |
| The Nun II | $260,000 | -70% | 604 | -760 | $430 | $85,890,000 | 8 | Warner Bros. |
| The Holdovers | $200,000 | 6 | $33,333 | $200,000 | 1 | Focus Features [Universal] | ||
| Hocus Pocus | $196,000 | -70% | 420 | -955 | $467 | Disney | ||
| The Equalizer 3 | $175,427 | -64% | 360 | -723 | $487 | $91,958,000 | 9 | Sony Pictures |
| Priscilla | $132,139 | 4 | $33,035 | $132,139 | 1 | A24 | ||
| Dicks: The Musical | $129,122 | -68% | 635 | 290 | $203 | $1,203,567 | 4 | A24 |
| Oppenheimer | $95,000 | -50% | 125 | -88 | $760 | $324,241,295 | 15 | Universal |
| Dumb Money | $49,916 | -82% | 254 | -913 | $197 | $13,830,000 | 7 | Sony Pictures |
| Stop Making Sense | $44,568 | -37% | 70 | -19 | $637 | $4,840,239 | Cinecom | |
| Haunted Mansion | $10,000 | -85% | 55 | -55 | $182 | $67,637,887 | 14 | Walt Disney |
| Common Ground | $8,500 | -54% | 7 | -12 | $1,214 | $155,124 | 5 | Area 23a |
| Four Daughters | $5,398 | 1 | $5,398 | $5,398 | 1 | Kino Lorber |
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