Weekend Box Office: Halloween Ends Opens to $41.2M, Specialty Titles Begin Expansion

Photo Credits: Universal ("Halloween Ends")

Halloween Ends

Universal’s horror sequel Halloween Ends debuted with $41.2M in first place, with a simultaneous day-and-date release in cinemas and on Peacock. That’s slightly below pre-release projections, which were around the $45M-$50M range.

Its opening is:

  • -16% below 2021 prior installment Halloween Kills ($49.4M), which also debuted day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and on streaming
  • -45% below 2018’s Halloween ($76.2M), which debuted with theatrical exclusivity
  • -7% below this year’s biggest horror movie, July’s Nope ($44.3M)
  • -13% below last year’s biggest horror movie, 2021’s A Quiet Place Part II ($47.5M)

The estimated audience for Ends was 36% Hispanic, versus 33% white. It was also 62% younger than 35.

The word-of-mouth looks poor, with a C+ CinemaScore. Compounded with the film’s streaming availability, it looks like a front-loaded run for the closing chapter of David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy.

Overseas, the film debuted with $17.1M in 77 markets, for a $58.4M global opening. Although its domestic opening was down from its predecessor’s debut, the global opening was actually up +4% over Kills ($55.8M).

Top overseas markets for Ends include:

  • Mexico ($2.5M)
  • U.K. ($2.4M)
  • Germany ($1.6M)
  • France ($1.2M)
  • Australia ($1.0M)

Smile

For the past two weekends, Paramount’s horror Smile led the box office: first with $22.6M, on the higher end of pre-release projections, then falling only -18% to repeat in first place with $18.5M.

That marked the mildest sophomore weekend drop of any major wide-release film of 2022 so far, whether horror or otherwise.

Now in its third weekend, it falls only -33% to $12.4M and second place.

Like for its second weekend, that was a milder drop than expected, especially given the debut of Halloween Ends in the same genre. Projections were in the slightly lower $10M-$11M range.

Through 17 days, Smile has now earned a $71.1M domestic total. That’s:

  • +13% ahead of June’s The Black Phone ($62.4M), despite opening -4% behind ($23.6M)
  • +14% ahead of January’s Scream ($62.0M), despite opening -24% behind ($30.0M)
  • +33% ahead of 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ($53.4M), despite opening -6% behind ($24.1M)

Overseas, Smile’s second weekend actually increased +19% in holdover markets. Now in its third frame, it declines only -16%. 

The film has now earned $66.4M overseas in 61 markets, for a $137.5M global total. Top overseas market totals include:

  • U.K. ($8.1M)
  • Germany ($6.6M)
  • Mexico ($6.1M)
  • France ($4.8M)
  • Australia ($3.4M)
  • Spain ($3.5M)
  • Brazil ($2.5M)

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Last weekend, Sony Pictures’ family musical Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile had a green lead character but didn’t see much green, opening in second place with $11.5M, below pre-release projections of around $15M.

This weekend, it falls -35% to $7.4M and third place, slightly higher than projections around $6.5M to $7M.

That drop was milder than:

  • Last October’s main animated release, 2021’s The Addams Family 2 (-42%, released day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and for online rental)
  • 2021’s Clifford the Big Red Dog (-51%, released day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and streaming on Paramount+)
  • July’s DC League of Super Pets (-52%)
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However, its drop was slightly steeper than for April’s The Bad Guys (-32%).

Overseas, Lyle has only opened in a few markets so far, earning $3.9M overseas for a $26.4M global total.

Amsterdam

Last weekend, 20th Century Studios’ period crime film Amsterdam opened in third place with $6.5M, below pre-release projections which were in the $8M-$10M range.

This weekend, with poor word-of-mouth, it falls a sharp -55% to $2.8M.

Compared to the sophomore weekend drops in wide release for writer-director David O. Russell’s other films, that’s steeper than:

  • 2015’s Joy (-40% on New Year’s weekend, then -56% the weekend after that)
  • 2013’s American Hustle (-34%, though technically the initial drop was a mere -2% on Christmas weekend)
  • 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook (-30%)
  • 2010’s The Fighter (-38%)

Compared to other adult-skewing crime films with large ensemble casts, it’s also steeper than:

  • 2021’s House of Gucci (-51%)
  • 2013’s Gangster Squad (-49%)
  • 2015’s The Big Short (-14% on New Year’s weekend, then -32% after that)

Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick declined only -15% to $685K. That’s the #70 largest twenty-first weekend of all time.

After earning “only” the #41 opening weekend of all time ($126.7M), it remained within the top-20 of all time on each respective weekend for months. More recently, though, it’s started to fall back back to earth, with the:

  • #29 sixteenth weekend ($3.1M)
  • #40 seventeenth weekend ($2.2M)
  • #55 eighteenth weekend ($1.6M)
  • #59 nineteenth weekend ($1.1M)
  • #73 twentieth weekend ($805K)
  • Now, the #70 twenty-first weekend ($685K)

One of the few films to ever record a higher twenty-first weekend? 1986’s original Top Gun, which ranks #6 all time on that measure with $2.4M.

Overseas, Maverick stands at $766.9M, for $1.48B globally. That makes it by far the top film of 2022 so far, both globally and domestically. The runner-up globally is Jurassic World: Dominion with $1.00B.

Specialty Box Office: TÁR, Triangle of Sadness, Till, Decision to Leave

TÁR

Last weekend, Focus Features’ TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett, opened in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles with $158K, for a $39,655 per-theater average. That was the #3 per-theater average of 2022 so far.

It ranked behind only March’s Everything Everywhere All at Once ($50,131, from $501K in 10 theaters) and May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($41,337, from $187.4M in 4,534 theaters).

In its second weekend, TÁR expanded to 36 theaters but dropped -77% to $36K.

TÁR expands to a wider release on October 28.

Triangle of Sadness

Last weekend, Neon’s Triangle of Sadness opened with $214K in 10 theaters, for a $21,460 average. That was the #15 per-theater average of 2022 so far.

This weekend, it expanded slightly to 31 screens, increasing +57% to $336K. 

Triangle won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Till

United Artists Releasing’s and MGM’s historical drama Till opened with $240K in 16 theaters, for a $15,059 average.

That opening per-theater average is below several comparable films real-life African-American figures from American history:

  • -26% below 2016’s Hidden Figures ($20,620, from $515,499 in 25 theaters)
  • -50% below 2015’s Selma ($30,076, from $571,450 in 19 theaters)
  • -69% below 2013’s 12 Years a Slave ($48,617, from $923,715 in 19 theaters)

The estimated audience for Till was 55% female and 47% black (versus 30% white).

[Read Boxoffice PRO’s feature on the film, including quotes from director Chinoye Chukwu, here.]

The film will expand nationwide on October 28.

Decision to Leave

MUBI’s Decision to Leave earned 90,729 in three theaters, for a $30,243 average. That marks the #9 per-theater average of 2022 so far.

The film won Park Chan-wook Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival.

Weekend comparisons

Total box office this weekend came in around $76.7M, which is:

  • +30% above last weekend’s total ($58.8M), when Smile led for a second consecutive frame with $18.5M.
  • -29% below the equivalent weekend in 2021 ($108.9M), when No Time to Die opened with $55.2M.
  • -45% below the equivalent weekend in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 ($141.3M), when Joker led for a second consecutive frame with $55.8M.

YTD comparisons

Year-to-date box office stands around $5.86B. That’s:

  • 2.11x this same point in the pandemic recovery year of 2021 ($2.77B), down from 2.19x after last weekend.
  • -33.8% behind this same point in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year ($8.85B), down from -33.4% last weekend. The peak was around -29.5%, set in mid-July.

Top distributors

  1. Universal ($1.32B)
  2. Paramount ($1.25B)
  3. Disney ($880.9M)
  4. Sony Pictures ($797.9M)
  5. Warner Bros. ($762.8M)

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:

Title  Estimated weekend  % change Locations Location change Average  Total  Weekend Distributor
Halloween Ends $41,250,000   3,901   $10,574 $41,250,000 1 Universal
Smile $12,400,000 -33% 3,612 -47 $3,433 $71,167,899 3 Paramount
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile $7,400,000 -35% 4,350   $1,701 $22,757,353 2 Sony Pictures
The Woman King $3,700,000 -29% 2,565 -777 $1,442 $59,746,217 5 Sony Pictures
Amsterdam $2,891,000 -55% 3,005   $962 $11,959,234 2 20th Century Studios
Don’t Worry Darling $2,185,000 -38% 2,734 -590 $799 $42,403,454 4 Warner Bros.
Barbarian $1,411,000 -36% 1,805 -355 $782 $38,961,777 6 20th Century Studios
Bros $920,000 -57% 2,201 -1,155 $418 $10,835,735 3 Universal
Terrifier 2 $850,000 6% 700 -186 $1,214 $2,295,000 2 Bloody Disgusting
Top Gun: Maverick $685,000 -15% 902 -225 $759 $715,755,567 21 Paramount
Minions: The Rise of Gru $418,000 -21% 1,215 184 $344 $368,354,300 16 Universal
Bullet Train $410,000 -37% 604 -314 $679 $103,096,865 11 Sony Pictures
DC League of Super Pets $370,000 -30% 881 -430 $420 $93,115,890 12 Warner Bros.
TÁR $360,000 127% 36 32 $10,000 $584,846 2 Focus Features
Triangle of Sadness $336,576 57% 31 21 $10,857 $657,051 2 Neon
See How They Run $301,000 -24% 525 -250 $573 $9,311,420 5 Searchlight Pictures
The Invitation $275,000 -36% 545 -480 $505 $25,027,709 8 Sony Pictures
Till $240,940   16   $15,059 $240,940 1 United Artists
Pearl $123,473 -58% 263 -325 $469 $9,235,005 5 A24
Moonage Daydream $111,000 -35% 198 -92 $561 $4,039,715 5 Neon
Decision to Leave $90,729   3   $30,243 $90,729 1 MUBI
Running The Bases $38,000 -30% 142 -75 $268 $1,445,996 5 UP2U Films
Cat Daddies $11,500   1   $11,500 $11,500 1 Gray Hat Productions
Superspreader $2,300 -99% 15 -83 $153 $398,300 3 Iconic Releasing
Photo Credits: Universal ("Halloween Ends")