M3GAN and More in This Week's MPAA Ratings Bulletin

By Chris Kavan - 11/02/22 at 11:50 AM CT

After becoming the first blockbuster since we ended the summer season, Black Adam once again ruled the box office, though not without taking a significant hit. The only new film to open, Prey for the Devil, may have tried to take advantage of the spooky holiday but had minimal impact over the weekend. The MPAA continues to trickle out its own treats with yet another single title that once again explores the dangers of AI companionship.

Black Adam provided a much-needed shot in the arm to the box office last weekend, even if its opening was a bit under expectations. The anti-hero still came out on top in its second weekend but did take a 59% tumble for a $27.4 million take and a new $110.9 million total. It will soon pass Nope ($123 million) to become the highest-grossing film since Thor: Love and Thunder but it's long-term prospects - especially after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens - are trending in the wrong direction. At this point it looks like it will settle somewhere between The Eternals ($165 million) and Hobbs & Shaw ($175 million) which both had comparable second-week totals. It was hoped the $195 million-budgeted film could top at least $200 million, but that prospect looks out of reach. It has earned over $250 million worldwide at this point, but getting to $400 million total is also looking like more of an outside chance. Can Black Adam be considered a win for the DCEU at this point? It looks like it will come out slightly ahead when all is said and done - but is certainly far from the heights I'm sure the studio really wanted.

In second place the George Clooney and Julia Roberts rom-com Ticket to Paradise once again held onto its spot with a just-over 40% dip and a $9.8 million weekend. The counter-programmer continues to look good with a $33.5 million total. As it has seemingly cornered the adult market at this point, a total of $60 million or so seems likely if it continues on is current path. With over $85 million international as well, the reported $60 million film should approach $150 million worldwide and see a profit in the end.

In third place the newest horror entry Prey for the Devil had a light impact with a $7.1 million opening. It largely escaped the notice of critics - but still sits at a dismal 19% Rotten while audiences gave it a standard horror Cinemascore "C+" score. This one will likely run its course swiftly and probably has a small enough budget that even if it only makes a fraction of Smile, will still be worthy of the release in theaters.

Speaking of Smile, the horror sensation wound up in fourth place, dipping a mere 36% to bring in $5.4 million for a new $92.7 million total. That means it finally topped The Black Phone ($89.88 million) to take the pure horror crown for the year (Nope aside - and that's more sci-fi anyway). It looks like $100 million is still on the table even with Halloween in the rearview mirror. Big smiles all around for this one.

Rounding out the top five was Halloween Ends, dropping just under 50% for a $4 million weekend and a new $60.55 million total. That this heavy-weight franchise is running behind Smile is a surprise but even if it falls short of Halloween Kills ($92 million) and well short of the rebooted Halloween ($159 million) might not matter given its $33 million budget. It will certainly have no problem turning a profit but its is kind of sad to see what started off so promising end in a whimper.

Outside the top five: Two big dramas expanded with good results as Till - based on the story of the lynching of a young Emmett Till and the fight for his mother to expose racism and find some sense of justice - expanded to over 2000 screens bringing in $2.74 million, jumping over 654% and going from 13th to sixth place in the process. It has earned $3.65 million to date.

Also expanding was the Cate Blanchett biopic Tár, to over 1000 screens where it also jumped nearly 110% landing in 10th with just over $1 million for a $2.5 million total.

Also of note is the continuing impressive run for Terrifier 2, which added in 795 screens, jumped another 8.2% but dropped a spot to 8th place with a $1.9 million weekend. The overly-gory horror offering has earned $7.7 million so far.

The only new wide release for the coming weekend is another adult-driven coming-of-age / break down of the American Dream drama Armageddon Time. I suspect it will have a minimal impact overall.

MPAA Official Logo

I guess if we're sticking with horror, we might as well talk about the fascination with AI - from Terminator to Ex Machina, machines gaining intelligence has always been a favorite to explore mankind's hubris in creating artificial life only to have it bite us in the ass. The upcoming M3GAN is a bit of Child's Play mixed with Deadly Friend and a dash of Ex Machina for good measure. The film follows a robotics engineer (Allison Williams) working for a toy company who has designed a life-like android she decides to introduce to her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw) who has recently lost both parents in a car accident. M3GAN (voiced by Jenna Davis) makes a quick connection with Cady but her overall directive to protect Cady soon takes some chilling turns as, of course, our robot friend take her job a bit too seriously. Also, there is a completely unnerving and meme-tastic dance in the trailer that is both hilarious and disturbing. Considering this is coming from Blumhouse, with a story from James Wan - it should be entertaining if nothing else. Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language and a suggestive reference.

Once again, that's all you get from the MPAA Ratings Board this time around, but you can check out the full MPAA Ratings Bulletin below:

THE ADULTS

Rated R for language.


AIR JORDAN

Rated R for language throughout.


FATHER STU: REBORN

Rated PG-13 for language, an accident scene, sexual references, some violence and smoking. (Edited Version of the original film).


M3GAN

Rated PG-13 for violent content and terror, some strong language and a suggestive reference.


NIGHT TRAIN

Rated PG-13 for some drug material, suggestive material and language.


THE OLD WAY

Rated R for violence.


RENEGADES

Rated R for violence throughout, pervasive language, and drug use.


REPEATER

Rated R for violence and language.


SPOILER ALERT

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug use and thematic elements.


SUPERCELL

Rated PG-13 for language, some peril and smoking.

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