411 Box Office Report: Dune Reigns For Second Weekend

Dune ruled supreme for a second weekend at the box office. The sci-fi action-drama took the #1 spot for the second frame in a row with $15.5 million. That’s down 62%, which was a more or less expected drop from last weekend. The hold may seem severe, but it’s been right about at the average for films release on HBO Max since people began going back to theaters more regularly over the summer.

The second weekend take brings the Denis Villeneuve-directed film up to $69.4 million domestically and a very rosy $292.1 million worldwide thus far, both numbers that Warner Bros. is happy with. The studio has already announced the second part is a go with a 2023 release date set. The film was expensive to produce at $165 million, plus marketing, but Warner Bros. was said to be happy with $300 million worldwide so they’re already basically there. Domestically, the movie should make it to around $90 million to $95 million in the US.

Without any particularly strong performers from the newcomers this weekend, Halloween Kills was able to take advantage of the holiday to ease its drop. The slasher sequel took in $8.5 million, down a solid 41% from last weekend. That has to make Universal execs happy after the first weekend had a 71% drop. Kills now stands at $85.6 million domestically and $115.1 million worldwide, making it a hit for the studio against a budget of just $20 million. Adding in its influence as a driver for Peacock subscriptions and this one should be doing quite well. It is still on track for about $100 million in terms of its final domestic gross.

No Time to Die came in at #3 again in its fourth weekend with $7.8 million, down a very nice 38%. The 007 film is now at $133.3 million domestically and a quite good $605.8 million worldwide. The film is aiming to hit profit without much difficulty even with a $250 million production budget and a lot of marketing costs. Domestically it is staying on course for a $150 million total.

FUNimation’s latest theatrical release My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission was the top-performing new film this weekend, taking in $6.4 million. That’s a solid performance for a film out of a genre that continues to flex its increasing box office power. It is well below the $22.8 million start for Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train back in April, but this wasn’t ever expected to hit those numbers.

The film is doing fine here in the US, though as always for anime it’s Japan where it will bring in its real profit. World Heroes’ Mission has $27.8 million overseas for a worldwide total of $34.2 million. If it follows Demon Slayer’s average, it should close out at around $15 million or so in the US.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage was down 38% in its fifth weekend, taking in another $5.8 million. The Sony/Marvel film is up to $190.4 million domestically and $395.8 million worldwide, great numbers on both marks especially considering the $100 million budget. The sequel is still on course for $200 million in the US.

We had a two-way tie for the #6 and 7 positions between new horror films Last Night in Soho and Antlers. Both films took in $4.2 million for the weekend, which are about where they were expected to land going into the weekend. These aren’t great numbers for these films; Soho reps the lowest wide opening of Edgar Wright’s career, and Antlers is the same for Scott Cooper.

But as I said, these aren’t surprises for a variety of reasons. Both Soho and Antlers were not exactly big crowd-pleasing blockbuster horror films like Halloween Kills, A Quiet Place: Part II, or The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Original IPs are always going to be a trickier sell to audiences, especially during Halloween weekend when a Halloween film is literally playing next door. Both films also had a fair amount of hype fade away just because they had to be delayed due to the pandemic – in Antlers’ case, a very long time.

You can also add in the fact that these are both films that have polarized critics, meaning that the buzz was somewhat muted. Soho has a solid but not quite acclaimed 74% aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Antlers is milder at 66%. Soho had the better word of both (a B+ CinemaScore to Antlers’ C+), and that could mean better holds throughout the weekend.

As far as profits, it’s hard to tell in both cases. There’s no word on the budgets for either, but it’s hard to imagine that they will be hits in terms of theatrical receipts. Soho is expected to hit VOD soon, as most of Focus Features’ pandemic releases have been available on digital in just 17 days. One would be right to imagine $12 million to $15 million takes for both domestically. In terms of worldwide grosses, Antlers has a slight edge with $6.6 million to Soho’s $6.4 million.

Ron’s Gone Wrong continued to go wrong in its second weekend, down 48% to $3.8 million. The 20th Century Studios animated film now has $12.6 million domestically and $22.6 million worldwide, with a probable $20 million ceiling domestically. No word on its budget, but it can’t be profitable at those numbers.

Addams Family 2 eased 27% in its firth weekend with $3.3 million. The animated family comedy has tallied up $52.9 million domestically and $87.1 million to date, very solid numbers for a film whose budget is expected to be around the first film’s $24 million. The film should close out at around $58 million to $60 million domestically.

Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch expanded in its second weekend to 738 theaters and performed very well, grossing $2.8 million. The 1950s-set comedy is now up to $4.6 million domestically and $7.3 million worldwide, a good start for the film. It’s still hard to tell how it will continue to perform because that depends on Searchlight’s expansion plans, but it’s in good shape so far.

Next weekend sees the next MCU film arrive in Eternals, which will be the latest film to see if Marvel can launch lesser-known characters in a major way. The film looks likely to gross between $65 million and $75 million in its first weekend.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Dune – $15.5 million ($69.4 million total)
2. Halloween Kills – $8.5 million ($85.6 million total)
3. No Time to Die – $7.8 million ($133.3 million total)
4. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission – $6.4 million ($6.4 million total)
5. Venom: Let There Be Carnage – $5.8 million ($190.4 million total)
6. Last Night in Soho – $4.2 million ($4.2 million total)
7. Antlers – $4.2 million ($4.2 million total)
8. Ron’s Gone Wrong – $3.8 million ($12.6 million total)
9. The Addams Family 2 – $3.3 million ($52.8 million total)
10. The French Dispatch – $2.8 million ($4.6 million total)