Weekend Box Office: Smile Repeats on Top as Openers Fall Flat | Neon and Focus Kick Off Awards Season

Smile

Last weekend, Paramount’s horror Smile led the box office with $22.60M, on the higher end of pre-release projections, which were around $19M.

This weekend, it falls only -22% to $17.6M and repeating in first place. That’s notably above projections of around $13M-$14M.

[Monday update: Paramount’s weekend actuals revealed that the film came in above Sunday’s weekend estimate, at $18.4M, for a mere -18% decline.]

That’s also the mildest sophomore weekend percentage drop of any post-pandemic horror release, milder than:

• August’s Bodies Bodies Bodies (-24%)
• 2021’s The Unholy (-24%)
• August’s The Invitation (-28%)
• September’s Barbarian (-38%)
• September’s Pearl (-39%)
• 2021’s The Forever Purge (-43%)
• 2021’s Spiral (-47%)
• June’s The Black Phone (-48%)
• May’s Firestarter (-48%)
• March’s X (-49%)
• 2021’s Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (-50%)
• 2021’s Malignant (-50%)
• 2021’s Don’t Breathe 2 (-52%)
• 2021’s Candyman (-53%)
• 2021’s Antlers (-54%)
• 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (-57%)
• July’s Nope (-58%)
• January’s Scream (-59%)
• 2021’s A Quiet Place Part II (-59%)
• 2021’s Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (-60%)
• May’s Men (-64%)
• 2021’s Halloween Kills (-71%)

Smile’s overseas opening weekend was $17.5M, actually up by +19% in holdover markets, a very impressive number that’s (somehow) even more impressive than the -22% domestic drop.

In 61 markets, the film has now earned $40.0M overseas and a $89.8M global total. Top overseas market openings include:

• U.K. ($5.4M)
• Mexico ($4.2M)
• Germany ($3.4M)
• France ($3.2M)
• Australia ($2.3M)
• Spain ($2.2M)
• Brazil ($1.4M)

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Sony Pictures’ family musical Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile had a green lead character but didn’t see much green this weekend, opening in second place with $11.5M.

That’s below pre-release projections, which were around $15M.

Its opening was:

• -7% below May’s The Bob’s Burgers Movie ($12.4M)
• -13% below 2019’s Spies in Disguise ($13.3M)
• -31% below 2021’s Clifford the Big Red Dog ($16.6M, released day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and streaming on Paramount+)
• -33% below October 2021’s The Addams Family 2 ($17.3M, released day-and-date simultaneously in cinemas and for online rental)
• -50% below July’s DC League of Super Pets ($23.0M)
• -52% below April’s The Bad Guys ($23.9M)
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Amsterdam

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

The estimated audience was 57% male and 81% ages 25+.

Compared to the wide releases for writer-director David O. Russell’s other films, that opening is:

• -61% below 2015’s Joy ($17.0M)
• -65% below 2013’s American Hustle ($19.1M)
• -39% below 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook ($10.7M)
• -46% below 2010’s The Fighter ($12.1M)

Compared to other adult-skewing crime films with large ensemble casts:

• -54% below 2021’s House of Gucci ($14.4M)
• -61% below 2013’s Gangster Squad ($17.0M)
• -38% below 2015’s The Big Short ($10.5M)

Bros

Universal’s romantic comedy Bros only opened to fourth place with $4.8M, below the $7-9M range and second place rank of most projections.

In its second frame, it fell a sharp -56% to $2.1M and eighth place. Compared to other films with gay protagonists, that’s much steeper than 2018’s Love, Simon (-35%).

Compared to other romantic comedies of recent years which opened below about $12M, it’s also steeper than:

• 2018’s The Big Sick (-34%)
• 2019’s Long Shot (-36%)
• 2017’s Home Again (-40%)
• 2014’s That Awkward Moment (-40%)
• 2019’s Last Christmas (-43%)
• 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby (-46%)
• 2019’s Isn’t It Romantic (-50%)
• February’s Marry Me (-53%, after opening day-and-date simultaneously in both cinemas and on Peacock)

PS-1 (Ponniyin Selvan: Part One)

The Indian Tamil-language action drama PS-1 (Ponniyin Selvan: Part One) started in sixth place last weekend with $4.1M.

This weekend, it falls -78% to $900K. Compared to the other biggest Bollywood films domestically in recent years, the Sarigama Cinemas release fell steeper than:

• 2016’s Dangal (-35%)
• 2015’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan (-42%)
• 2014’s P.K. (-52%)
• 2015’s Baahubali: The Beginning (-56%)
• September’s Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva (-76%)

However, its drop was milder than Sarigama Cinemas’ March RRR: Rise, Roar, Revolt (-83%).

Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick declined only -33% to $800K. That’s the #75 largest twentieth 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)
• Now, the #75 twentieth weekend ($800K)

One of the few films to ever record a higher twentieth weekend? 1986’s original Top Gun, which ranks #10 all time on that measure with $2.5M.

Overseas, Maverick stands at $765.1M, for $1.47B globally – the top film of 2022 both globally and domestically.

TÁR

Focus Features kicked off the theatrical roll out of Todd Field’s TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett, opening the film in four theaters in New York City and Los Angeles with a $160,000 take for a $40,000 per-theater average.

That’s the #3 per-theater average of 2022 so far, behind only March’s Everything Everywhere All at Once ($501,305 in 10 theaters for a $50,131 average) and May’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187,420,998 in 4,534 theaters for a $41,337 average).

TÁR expands to a wider release on October 28.

Triangle of Sadness

The specialty market had another high profile opening with Neon’s roll out of Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness. The Palme d’Or winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival began its North American run with $210,074 from 10 screens, for a $21,007 per-theater average.

That’s the #16 per-theater average of 2022 so far.

Compared to other recent Palme d’Or winners, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, that’s:

• Much higher than 2021’s Titane with a $949 average, though it also opened in a far larger 562 theaters.
• Much lower than 2019’s Parasite with a $393,216 average, opening with $131,072 in three theaters.
• Slightly higher than 2018’s Shoplifters with a $17,853 average, opening with $89,264 in five theaters.
• Slightly higher than 2017’s The Square, Ruben Ostlund’s prior feature, with a $18,558 average, opening with $74,233 in four theaters.

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates: