411 Box Office Report: Smile Retains Top Spot With Fantastic Hold

Smile is proving to be quite the sleeper hit, as it retained its spot atop the box office with a great hold from last weekend. The Parker Finn-directed horror film stayed at #1 with $17.6 million in its second weekend. That’s down a mere 22% from its opening weekend take, representing second-best hold of all-time for an R-rated horror movie. This is fantastic news for Paramount, who already had to be happy about the film’s overperformance last weekend. It speaks to the positive buzz around the film – especially considering how frontloaded horror tends to be – and strongly suggests the possibility for even higher grosses throughout October.

As it currently stands, Smile is already a hit for the studio. The film cost just $17 million to make and already has $49.9 million domestically, plus $40 million overseas for $89.9 million worldwide. But with this good of a hold, it has real potential go get very high in the US. Get Out rode its critically acclaimed buzz to a 5.27 box office multiple and while that seems out of the likely range for Smile, at least $75 million is very likely.

Meanwhile, family entertainment came up short of expectations as Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossed just $11.5 million in its first weekend. That’s below the teens start that was expected for it late last week. The Sony Pictures adaptation of the popular children’s book drew mildly positive reviews at a 68% Rotten Tomatoes average, but that wasn’t enough for the film to lure in moviegoers. The opening is well below that of most family films this year including The Bad Guys ($23.9 million start in April) and DC League of Super-Pets ($23 million in July).

On the plus side, Lyle, Lyle is scoring very well with those who did go see it. The film has a 95% RT audience score and an 80% positive with ComScore, which should help its holds. The movie should be able to top $30 million by the end of its domestic run, though it will need strong international numbers (where it hasn’t yet opened) to make back its $50 million production budget.

David O. Russell’s latest film bombed this weekend as Amsterdam opened well below expectations. The comedy thriller grossed $6.5 million, below the already-low $10 million start that was projected heading into the weekend. That marks Russell’s lowest wide-release start since I Heart Huckabees went semi-wide to just $2.9 million way back in 2004.

Amsterdam had a big-name ensemble cast to it including Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, Chris Rock, and John David Washington. However, it flew well under the radar with a lackluster marketing effort from Disney. Russell is a director who thrives on critical acclaim, and that wasn’t here as critics hated the film at a low 33% on RT. Audiences were lukewarm as well with a 61% RT audience score and a B CinemaScore, resulting in a film that was far from must-see.

It also didn’t exactly clean up overseas with $3.5 million in several markets. Disney is going to take a bath on this film, which was expensive at an $80 million budget. There’s no upside here for a film that may struggle to hit $20 million domestically.

The Woman King continued to perform well, with the Viola Davis film down just 22% to $5.3 million in its fourth weekend. The action drama is now up to $54.1 million domestically and $64.1 million worldwide, solid numbers with still only a smattering of overseas markets in play. The film is looking likely at this point to approach $70 million domestically and should able to turn a profit with against a $50 million budget when international numbers come in.

Don’t Worry Darling slipped again, off 49% to $3.5 million in its third weekend. The Olivia Wilde film has now grossed $38.5 million domestically and $69.3 million worldwide, making it profitable against a budget of just $19 million. Warner Bros. probably wanted more from this, but it’s still going to be a minor hit with a likely end game of around $45 million in the US.

The Avatar rerelease continued this week as it fell 49% to gross $2.6 million. The sci-fi blockbuster has grossed $23.3 million domestically and $71.9 million worldwide in this re-release, bringing its totals to $783.8 million domestic and $2.919 billion worldwide.

Barbarian is another horror film killing it at the box office, as it was down a mere 23% in its fifth weekend to gross $2.2 million. The 20th Century Studios flick is now up to $36.5 million domestically and $38.2 million worldwide, great numbers considering the film cost just $4.5 million to make. It should be able to make it to $42 million before it exits theaters.

Bros followed up its opening weekend underperformance with a hefty fall, down 56% to $2.2 million. That’s not good for the gay romcom, which has grossed just $8.9 million thus far – less than it was expected to make in just its opening weekend. This is more evidence that romcoms are an increasingly dying genre at the box office. The film at this point is looking unlikely to top $15 million in the states, which will make it a failure against a $22 million budget. Leave this genre to the streaming services and Digital.

Cult horror made its way into the top 10 as Terrifier 2 claimed the #9 spot in its opening weekend. The sequel to the gory slasher film scored $800,000, bringing its totals to $1.2 million since opening on Thursday.

Terrifier 2’s numbers may not look like much to care about, but this is legitimately a very good opening for a sequel to a film that has a small (if dedicated) fanbase. The first film barely touched theaters and was a hit only on home viewing, and with the higher-performing horror films out there this could have easily been passed by. However, the good critical buzz (the film has a 90% RT average) and great fan response (93% RT audience score) seem to be working in its favor.

Will Art the Clown stay in the box office top 10 for long? Probably not; this is likely to be a very front-loaded film. But it’s also already a hit considering it cost just $250,000 to produce. Cinedigm is likely pleased with this result, and a third film in the franchise doesn’t seem unlikely.

Top Gun: Maverick was able to celebrate its 20th week in release with another weekend in the box office, pulling in $800,000 (down 33%). The action sequel now has $714.7 million domestically and $1.48 billion worldwide, of course a megahit against its $170 million budget. It should finish off around $715 million.

Next weekend will see more horror atop the box office as Halloween Ends eyes a $35 million to $40 million start in conjunction with its Peacock release.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Smile – $17.6 million ($49.9 million total, $89.9 million WW)
2. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile – $11.5 million ($11.5 million total, $11.5 million WW)
3. Amsterdam – $6.5 million ($6.5 million total, $10 million WW)
4. The Woman King – $5.3 million ($54.1 million total, $64.1 million WW)
5. Don’t Worry Darling – $3.5 million ($38.5 million total, $69.3 million WW)
6. Avatar – $2.6 million ($783.8 million total, $2.919 billion WW)
7. Barbarian – $2.2 million ($36.5 million total, $38.2 million WW)
8. Bros – $2.2 million ($8.9 million total, $8.9 million WW)
9. Terrifier 2 – $825,000 ($1.2 million total, $1.2 million total WW)
10. Top Gun: Maverick – $800,000 ($714.7 million total, $1.480 billion WW)