‘Halloween’ scares up more sales as ‘Hunter Killer,’ ‘Johnny English’ fall short
Despite soft landings for the weekend’s new wide releases, there’s a new all-time record for October grosses buoyed by the stellar performances of “Halloween,” “Venom” and “A Star Is Born.”
October has seen a record-setting monthly total of $789.9 million in ticket sales, beating the $757.1 million earned in October 2014.
Universal’s “Halloween” sequel, now in its second weekend, added $32 million in the U.S. and Canada for a cumulative $126.7 million, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.
In second place, Warner Bros.’ “A Star Is Born” added $14.1 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $148.7 million.
At No. 3, Sony’s “Venom,” also in its fourth weekend, added $10.8 million for a cumulative $187.3 million in ticket sales.
The studio’s “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween” came in fourth, adding $7.5 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $38.3 million.
Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate’s “Hunter Killer” opened with $6.6 million, in line with analysts’ predictions of $6 million to $9 million.
The military thriller stars Gerard Butler as a U.S. submarine captain leading a team of Navy SEALs to rescue the Russian president as the threat of an international catastrophe looms. Directed by Donovan Marsh, the film also stars Common and Gary Oldman.
The film earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics with an A- on CinemaScore and a 36% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
Also new this week, Working Title and Universal Pictures’ British spy comedy “Johnny English Strikes Again” opened at No. 12 with $1.6 million, well below analyst predictions of $4 million. The film has done the lion’s share of its business overseas with an international gross of $107.7 million. It earned a 32% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The final new release of the weekend, PureFlix’s “Indivisible,” opened on 830 screens with $1.6 million, in range with analysts’ predictions of the low single-digit millions. The faith-based drama follows an Army chaplain, his wife and the effect war has on their marriage.
In limited release, Amazon Studio’s horror remake “Suspiria” opened in two locations with $179,806, for a per-screen average of $89,903, the highest average of the year, topping “Free Solo’s” $75,201. The film was directed by Luca Guadagnino, who also received last year’s highest per-screen average for the Academy Award-winning “Call Me By Your Name.”
A24’s “Mid90s” had a respectable nationwide expansion, adding 1,202 locations (for a total of 1,206) and $3 million in ticket sales for a cumulative $3.3 million. The result puts it on par with the studio’s “Eighth Grade,” which opened earlier this year.
Amazon Studio’s “Beautiful Boy” had a ho-hum expansion, adding 200 locations in its third weekend and $592,897 (a per-screen average of $3,121) for a cumulative $1.4 million. The result is not a good sign as the film eyes a wide release next weekend.
Fox Searchlight expanded “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” into 25 locations in its second weekend for a strong result of $380,000 and a cumulative $610,000.
Next week, Fox opens the drama “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Paramount releases the comedy “Nobody’s Fool” and Buena Vista debuts the live-action adventure “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.” Focus Features releases the drama Boy Erased” in limited release.
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