By Chris Kavan - 10/19/22 at 12:34 PM CT
October is all about the scares and, so far, the scares have been propping up the box office and this week it was Halloween Ends that came out on top - posting the best opening in 12 weeks, even if it was a bit disappointing compared to the previous two outings. As for the MPAA - just a single film but it looks to be super interesting.
The big screen has seen horror reach some good heights and it was hoped that Halloween Ends would continue that trend. The good news is that with a $40 million opening, Halloween Ends gave us the best opening in 12 weekends and a 39% boost compared to the past seven weekends. But on the down side, that same $40 million is well below the openings for the rebooted Halloween ($76.2 million) as well as Halloween Kills ($49 million). It also had the worst Cinemascore from audiences with a "C+" (compared with a "B+" and "B-") and critics have it sitting at 40% Rotten (on par with Halloween Kills). Given the numbers, Halloween Ends might struggle to reach $80 million domestic - and the decision to release it on Peacock streaming at the same time may have hurt its chances. Still, with a reported $20-$30 million budget, the film will make money - and it has proven to be more popular abroad with $17.1 million international. So despite a weaker-than-expected opening, it's still treat rather than trick for Universal.
Still the horror standout, Smile had another fantastic hold, dipping just 32.2% for a $12.56 million weekend and a new $71.33 million total. It looks like it will be able to top Black Phone ($89.9 million) to become the year's best outright horror film - though it will remain behind Nope ($123 million) in the end. Even better is that it's also holding well overseas, where it dipped a mere 16% and now has a $138 million global total. That's going to bring a smile to a lot of faces.
In third place, family-friendly Lyle, Lyle Crocodile held admirably with a 35.5% dip for a $7.35 million weekend and a new $22.7 million total. That hold would look a lot better if its initial weekend has been better, but at least this gives the film a chance to justify its $50 million budget if it can continue to draw in the family crowd over the coming weeks. It is rolling out slowly with just $3.9 million overseas but it's looking better in the markets it has debuted in thus far.
In fourth place we find The Woman King, which had an excellent hold with a 28.5% dip in its fifth weekend and a $3.7 million weekend leading to a $59.75 million total. With international taking into account, the film has a $76.5 million total and a few key markets to go. The film should be able to top $75 million domestic soon and still looks like it has a good chance at some awards-season recognition.
Rounding out the top five, the beleaguered Amsterdam took a 57.1% hit and only added another $2.76 million following its disastrous debut. With just $11.83 million and a comparatively lackluster $6.5 million overseas, the $80 million film is going to be one of the year's biggest flops.
Outside the top five: With reports of people fainting, vomiting and simply running out of theaters, the gore-tastic horror sequel Terrifier 2 actually jumped 28% even as it lost a handful of theaters, landing in 8th place with just over $1 million for a new $2.47 million total. Given this kind of word-of-mouth, it will only help as October rolls right along.
This week Black Adam arrives as the Dwayne Johnson-led DCEU film looks to become the first $100 million plus opening since July even if early critical response has been mixed at best. As a counter-programming offer, the George Clooney/Julia Roberts re-team Ticket to Paradise looks to court women and adults into the fray.
While there have been several attempts to bring Nintendo's most iconic video game hero to life - both live-action and animated - in the past, the results have been sadly lackluster. Will things change with The Super Mario Bros. Movie? This animated affair has Chris Pratt voicing the plumber-turned-princess-rescuing hero and when the first trailer dropped reactions were - okay? I guess? Mario sounds a lot like... well, Chris Pratt with maybe a hint of an accent. While some may have preferred the over-the-top version voiced by Charles Martinet, this version seems perfectly find. Pratt is joined by Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as his brother, Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong and Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek. That a good line-up and based on the early trailer the film follows a familiar route - Bowser attacks, Mario will fight him, Koopas will be stomped and mushrooms most likely consumed - it certainly looks good on screen. I'll reserve my judgement but I'm slightly optimistic this won't be a complete disaster. Rated PG for action and mild violence.
And for an update on the as-yet-no release date Brandon Cronenberg film Infinity Pool - it has successfully managed to change its NC-17 original rating back down to an R with probably just SLIGHTLY less graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and some language. Can't wait!
That's all for this week but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:
DETECTIVE KNIGHT: REDEMPTION
Rater R for violence, language throughout and a sexual reference.
INFINITY POOL
Rated R for graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and some language. (Re-Rated - Previous NC-17 Rating from Bulletin No. 2750 Voided)
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
Rated PG-13 for some violence and language.
LOCKED-IN SOCIETY
Rated R for some language and sexual references.
PERFECT ADDICTION
Rated R for sexual content and language.
THE PRICE WE PAY
Rated R for strong horror violence, gore and pervasive language.
SUMMONING SYLVIA
Rated R for sexual content and language.
THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE
Rated PG for action and mild violence.
WHITE NOISE
Rated R for brief violence and language.
