411 Box Office Report: Black Adam Spends Third Weekend At #1

Black Adam continued its dominance of the box office this weekend with a third week at #1. The Dwayne Johnson-starring DCEU superhero movie took in $18.5 million for its third frame, down just 33% from last weekend’s $27.5 million tally. That’s a strong hold for the film following last weekend’s decent hold for the genre, and puts the film at $137.4 million domestically and $320 million worldwide to date.

Now, it must be said that at this point, it’s still a ways away from a profit margin thanks to a $200 million production budget plus marketing. That said, Black Adam is performing better in week-to-week holds than many predicted. Sure, it’s going to get annihilated next weekend when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens but right now it isn’t doing too badly. It is officially the highest-grossing DCEU film since Shazam! in April of 2019 and will pass that film’s $140.4 million domestic and $363.6 million without issue. Granted, that film was much less expensive (an $85 million production budget) but after the pandemic-caused flounderings – at least at the box office – of Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad, this is a decent reversal of fortunes. Black Adam should be able to close out with at least $160 million domestic and will need more overseas numbers (a China release – not yet scheduled – would help) to become a true hit.

Coming in at #2 in its opening weekend was One Piece Film: Red. The anime film brought in $9.5 million, a touch below its $10 million estimate coming into the weekend. That number is well below a couple of high-profile anime releases in recent memory, namely the $21.1 million start of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero in August and Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie’s $18 million opening in March. However, One Piece was never expected to open at those numbers and its start compares more favorably to My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission’s $6.2 million opening in late October of last year.

Like most anime films, One Piece Film’s domestic numbers are just icing on the cake anyway. The film has already grossed a massive $149.8 million internationally – unsurprisingly, largely from Japan where it has brought in $120.2 million since August. Crunchyroll has done well capitalizing on the growing box office power of the genre and while these films are invariably front-loaded due to their fanboy appeal and short runs, it should be able gross $15 million in the US.

Ticket to Paradise continues to roll, as it dropped just 14% in its third weekend to $8.5 million. The Julia Roberts & George Clooney romcom has now grossed $46.7 million domestically and an impressive $141.7 million worldwide, making it profitable against a $60 million budget. The film is looking to close out with at least $65 million or so domestically before it exits theaters and could climb even further if the great holds continue.

Speaking of great holds, Smile held on for a drop of just 26% in its sixth weekend, bringing in $4 million. The Finn Parker-directed horror film is doing massive business for its $17 million budget as it now stands at $99.1 million domestically and $202.9 million worldwide. The movie is now looking like it will close out stateside with around $115 million domestically, a huge hit for Paramount.

Prey for the Devil’s modest start was buoyed by a solid second weekend hold. The Lionsgate-distributed exorcism movie scored $3.9 million, down 46% which is pretty good for a horror film that didn’t exactly score with critics or fans. The movie still doesn’t have budget information out there but it can’t have been too expensive. At $13.6 million domestically and $18.1 million worldwide, it seems like it may be heading to a minor profit. The film is looking on par for around $20 million in the US.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile saw a bounce in its box office numbers as it rose 23% despite shedding a few theaters. The Sony Pictures family film desperately needed that boost, as it was somewhat spendy for the genre at $50 million and is still seeking a profit line at $36.6 million domestically and $63.8 million worldwide. Odds are that it still won’t make it out of the red unless overseas numbers pick up strongly. It should close out domestically at around $45 million.

Searchlight Pictures’ The Banshees of Inisherin expanded wide this weekend, though not in a particularly impressive manner. The Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson-starring drama from In Bruges helmer Martin McDonagh went from 58 to 895 theaters and mustered up $2 million, a mild number considering its strong 97% Rotten Tomatoes aggregated score. Searchlight has been middling along for the most part since it was brought into Disney as part of the Fox deal and this is no different. The film has $3 million domestically and $10.2 million worldwide, with a ways to go before it makes back its $10 million budget. It will struggle to hit $10 million in the US.

United Artists’ Till was off 32% from last weekend’s wide release start, bringing in $1.9 million. The historical drama now sits at $6.6 million, and the positive buzz suggests that it could still platform up a bit. No word on its budget yet.

Halloween Ends slid 66% in its fourth weekend to $1.4 million, quickly sliding its way down the charts as expected. Universal isn’t worried about it though; the concluding chapter in the David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy has now grossed $63.4 million domestically and $102.9 million worldwide. Those are down from the last two films but very profitable against $20 million budget. It should end its run with $68 million or so stateside.

Terrifier 2 is one of the breakout hits of the season, and it continued its run with $1.2 million in its fifth weekend. That’s down just 36% from last weekend’s numbers. While the $9.9 million domestically and $10.1 million worldwide seems slight, the $250,000 budget means this is a huge hit for Bloody Disgusting and Cinedigm. No word on how long it is staying in theaters yet but it’s already made its mark.

Next weekend will see a new dominant film as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever invades the box office. The MCU film is looking likely to open in the $180 million range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Black Adam – $18.5 million ($137.4 million total, $320 million WW)
2. One Piece Film: Red – $9.5 million ($9.5 million total, $141.7 million WW)
3. Ticket to Paradise – $8.5 million ($46.7 million total, $137.2 million WW)
4. Smile – $4 million ($99.1 million total, $202.9 million WW)
5. Prey For the Devil – $3.9 million ($13.6 million total, $18.1 million WW)
6. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile – $3.4 million ($36.6 million total, $63.8 million WW)
7. The Banshees of Inisherin – $2 million ($3 million total, $10.2 million WW)
8. Till – $1.9 million ($6.6 million total, $6.6 million WW)
9. Halloween Ends – $1.4 million ($63.4 million total, $102.9 million WW)
10. Terrifier 2 – $1.2 million ($9.9 million total, $10.1 million total WW)