411 Box Office Report: Black Phone 2 Lays Claim To #1, Tron: Ares Drops Hard

The Grabber reclaimed the top spot at the box office this weekend as Black Phone 2 soared to #1. Blumhouse’s sequel to its surprise hit opened atop the pack with a $26.5 million start. That’s slightly above the $22 million to $24 million expected coming into the weekend. It also tops the $23.6 million opening of the first film in June of 2022.

The opening allows Blumhouse to breathe a sigh of relief after a rough 2025 thus far. In a year where horror has often led the way at the box office, Blumhouse has a string of disappointments including The Wolf Man, The Woman in the Yard, and MEG4N 2.0. (Drop performed low but was never expected to be a powerhouse.)

The original Black Phone proved to be a favorite among critics and fans, and so far Black Phone 2 is holding up well in that regard. Critics like the sequel at a 74% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to 81% for the original). The RT audience rating stands at 85%, comparable to the first’s 88%, and the CinemaScore is a very decent B compared to the first’s B+. Essentially, the goodwill is there for the new film, albeit at a slightly lower level

Black Phone 2 has primed itself well to be another hit for Blumhouse and Universal. The film added $15.5 million overseas for a $42 million worldwide start. That’s quite good for a $30 million-budgeted movie. Black Phone 2 was also slightly less front-loaded through the weekend than the first film. While it’s unlikely to match the legs that took the first film to $90.1 million domestically, it does seem likely to be able to get to $80 million in the US which would easily be enough for profit.

Meanwhile, Tron: Ares sunk like a rock in its second weekend. Disney’s sci-fi threequel grossed just $11.1 million this weekend, a rough 66% drop from its disappointing opening weekend. Compare that to the 56% drop of Tron: Legacy and if anyone doubted that this Jerod Leto-starrer was a bomb before, they don’t anymore.

Ares has now grossed just $54.6 million domestically and $103 million worldwide, bad numbers against a $180 million budget. It’s pacing well behind Legacy and now looks likely to end its run at perhaps $95 million, not the numbers it needs to get out of a deep red hole.

Lionsgate had its latest disappointment at the box office with Good Fortune. The religious-themed comedy opened at just $6.2 million, below the hoped-for $10 million start. The film, about an angel who meddles in the lives of some mortals, boasted a strong cast (Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, and Keke Palmer) but Lionsgate was unable to sell the concept in its marketing.

I’ve spoken in depth about Lionsgate’s troubles at the box office over the last year-plus, and this continues the string of lackluster performers. Previous 2025 examples include Flight Risk, The Unbreakable Boy, Hurry Up Tomorrow, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, The Strangers: Chapter 2, and Ballerina. The studio’s only arguable hit of the year is The Long Walk, and “arguable” is the key word there.

Good Fortune earned decent reviews (77% on RT) and solid if solid word of mouth (B+ CinemaScore, 78% RT audience rating). But religious comedy is always a dicey box office proposition. The $30 million budget means that this one won’t make back its money in theaters, but it might have a shot at it once it hits home video. It rolls out internationally in the coming weeks; the domestic total will be around $15 million.

One Battle After Another continued holding well, with a 41% drop in its fourth weekend to $4 million. The Paul Thomas Anderson drama now has $61.9 million domestically and $162.5 million worldwide. It continues to track just ahead of Killers Of the Flower Moon and should end its domestic run at around $70 million against a $140 million budget. It will lose money in theaters, even with the strong overseas numbers, but should do well on home viewing and bring in plenty of awards attention – which is generally why you sink that much money into a movie like this.

Roofman dropped 54% in its second weekend to gross $3.7 million. The Channing Tatum-led drama didn’t have the hold that Paramount was hoping for; it’s been bowled over by higher profile releases. Roofman has grossed $15.5 million domestically and $16.1 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. It will not make money in theaters, but should be fine-ish after home viewing revenue.

Angel Studios’ World War II drama Truth & Treason performed exactly as expected with a $2.7 million start. The film opened right on par with Angel’s last film, football drama The Senior which started with $2.6 million in mid-September.

The studio has its formula down to a tee: keep the budget low, market to a loyal demographic, gross around $8 million to $15 million and then shift to VOD. Truth & Treason is right down that road as we speak. Reviews of this one are quite strong at a 93%, and the audience loves it as usual with a 96% RT audience rating and A CinemScore. It will close out with $7 million to $8 million and that will be enough for profit.

Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie dropped 52% in its fourth frame to take in $1.7 million. Universal’s family film is now at $29.9 million domestically and $58.2 million worldwide. The studio looks at the merchandising as this film’s value and in that respect, the film is fine against a $38 million budget. This one will also do well on home viewing; the domestic total looks like around $35 million.

The Conjuring: Last Rites continues to hang in there, down 50% in its seventh weekend with $1.6 million. The horror franchise closer now has $175.4 million domestically and $482 million worldwide, a massive hit against its $55 million budget. $180 million stateside remains the likely finish.

Amazon MGM Studios had a soft wide opening for After The Hunt. The dramatic thriller opened to just $1.6 million after going wide this weekend. That’s more or less where it was expected to open – not that this is good news.

After the Hunt is the latest film from Luca Guadagnino and stars a big-name cast in Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri. However, while Guadagnino is a prestige director, he’s not a box office-drawing director. Challengers was an anomaly and outside of that, his biggest hit was Call Me by Your Name which legged out to $18 million domestically.

That’s not going to happen with this film. For one, it deals with abuse allegations, which tends to be box office poison. Secondly, no one really likes it. The film has a mere 40% RT score from critics and a lousy 34% audience score. The C- CinemaScore backs that up. Hunt may prove to perform better on home viewing, but as of now this will be a failure at the box office. No word on the budget, but the ultimate $6 million or so domestically won’t cut it.

Soul on Fire spent another week in the top 10 as was down 54% to $1.3 million. The Sony-distributed drama is now at $5.5 million, likely enough for profit. We don’t know the budget but it should finish out around $8 million.

Next weekend is likely to see a new #1 as Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is aiming at around $20 million to $25 million. It will have competition from the romantic drama Regretting You, which hopes for a high teens to low $20 million start. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is looking at a low-to-mid teens opening..

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Black Phone 2 – $26.5 million ($26.5 million total, $42 million WW)
2. Tron: Ares – $11.1 million ($54.6 million total, $103 million WW)
3. Good Fortune – $6.2 million ($6.2 million total, $6.2 million WW)
4. One Battle After Another – $4 million ($61.9 million total, $162.5 million WW)
5. Roofman – $3.7 million ($15.5 million total, $16.1 million WW)
6. Truth & Reason – $2.7 million ($2.7 million total, $2.7 million WW)
7. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie – $1.7 million ($29.9 million total, $58.2 million WW)
8. The Conjuring: Last Rites – $1.6 million ($175.4 million total, $482 million WW)
9. After The Hunt – $1.6 million ($1.8 million total, $1.8 million WW)
10. Soul On Fire – $1.3 million ($5.5 million total, $5.5 million WW)