The movie industry has wrapped up one of its slowest Octobers in over 25 years, marked by a lackluster Halloween weekend. With the holiday falling on a Friday, studios chose not to release any significant new films. Instead, they opted for a few re-releases, including the classic “Back to the Future,” celebrating its 40th anniversary, alongside the Netflix series-turned-movie, “KPop Demon Hunters.”
Despite an underwhelming box office, where no film surpassed $10 million, there was a surprising twist at the top of the charts. Universal’s horror sequel “Black Phone 2” was projected to lead the box office in its third weekend, with estimates around $8 million. However, Paramount quickly claimed the top spot for its romantic drama “Regretting You,” which earned about $8.1 million. Box office tracker Comscore rounded out the weekend by awarding “Regretting You” the first-place title.
“Regretting You” is the latest adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel, following the success of “It Ends With Us.” While its domestic total has reached $27.5 million, it’s unlikely to meet the debut performance of its predecessor, which raked in $50 million during its opening weekend.
In its three-week run, “Black Phone 2” has garnered $61.5 million domestically, with a total of $104.7 million worldwide. The re-release of “Back to the Future” earned $4.7 million across 2,290 screens, bringing its domestic total to an impressive $221.7 million.
Though fans donned costumes from “HUNTR/X” this weekend, “KPop Demon Hunters” did not replicate its earlier box office success from August, where it took in up to $20 million. This past weekend, it earned approximately $5 million from 2,890 theaters, as Netflix does not publicly share ticket sales figures.
Sony Pictures and Crunchyroll’s “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” experienced a significant drop of 67% during its second weekend, with an estimated $6 million, totaling $30.8 million. Focus Features debuted “Bugonia” in wide release after a limited showing, pulling in approximately $4.8 million from 2,043 theaters, marking a notable entry for filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos.
Other notables included “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” earning $3.8 million, which puts its domestic total at $16.3 million, and its global tally at $30.6 million.
Paul Dergarabedian from Comscore remarked on the unique challenges this weekend faced, highlighting the overlap of Halloween and the World Series. Anticipated releases like “Predator: Badlands” and “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” over the coming weeks may revive interest in theaters. However, the real blockbuster season may not kick off until closer to Thanksgiving, with titles like “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” on the horizon.
As it stands, the upcoming weekends are expected to shift the momentum back towards movie theaters, even amid a slower October compared to years past.
Here are the top 10 movies by domestic box office for the weekend:
1. “Regretting You,” $8.1 million.
2. “Black Phone 2,” $8 million.
3. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,” $6 million.
4. “Bugonia,” $4.8 million.
5. “Back to the Future,” $4.7 million.
6. “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” $3.8 million.
7. “Tron: Ares,” $2.8 million.
8. “Stitch Head,” $2.1 million.
9. “Good Fortune,” $1.4 million.
10. “One Battle After Another,” $1.2 million.
