Disney Returns To Theaters As ‘Barbarian’ And ‘Brahmāstra:’ Top Weekend Box Office

20th Century Studios’ buzzy and well-reviewed Barbarian topped the domestic box office this weekend with $10 million. That’s perfectly fine for an under-$5 million, star-free, original, grindhouse horror title. Yes, there was a time not so long ago when a film like Don’t Breathe could open to $26 million. Any number of horror titles opened over the last 20 years with $15-$20 million as a matter of course. Still, in 2022 we’re happy enough when The Invitation opens with $7 million and Barbarian opens with $10 million. That’s still double the respective $4.4 million and $5.5 million debuts of Gore Verbinski’s $40 million A Cure for Wellness in early 2016 and James Wan’s $40 million Malignant this weekend last year. Speculation related to times gone by aside, this is, at worst, a circumstantial win.

In a world less beset by Covid-related post-production delays, I would have spent this weekend explaining either A) why New Line’s Salem’s Lot opened on par with a top-tier Conjuring Universe flick or B) why it was (presuming the budget wasn’t It Chapter Two or Nope-levels) okay that the Stephen King adaptation opened closer to Lights Out than The Conjuring. The Gary Dauberman-directed vampire flick has been indefinitely delayed, and this weekend’s big new release was Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. There remains a grim irony in Disney producing and distributing potentially commercial nostalgia-bait sequels like Hocus Pocus 2 and Disenchanted for Disney+ while releasing this original, star-free, arguably ‘hardcore’ grindhouse flick into wide theatrical release alongside a big-budget Bollywood action fantasy. But, hey, at least Disney is releasing stuff in theaters again.

While Barbarian, about a young woman who finds diabolical danger and potential doom in a double-booked Airbnb, might have broken out a generation ago and with a more theatrically-committed distributor, at this point, it’s just a relief it didn’t crash and burn. Circumstances being what they are, we may be in a situation where horror movies may be as franchise-driven (be that an existing franchise/IP/brand or a marquee director like Jordan Peele or M. Night Shyamalan) as most other genres (including, alas, animation) over the last several years. The hope is that Barbarian, which has used the whole ‘don’t read just go’ hook as an implicit marketing tool, will leg out as audiences discover its various surprises (the marketing is almost entirely focused on the first act) and ghoulish pleasures.

That it earned a 2.63x weekend multiplier, including more on Saturday than on Friday, is encouraging. Yes, a C+ from CinemaScore polling isn’t bad for a grizzly horror flick. I’ve always felt that a spoiler-lite marketing campaign will, provided you can open the film, increase post-debut legs since audiences will have a sense of discovery and ownership which will improve word of mouth. Think, offhand, Free Guy, Gravity and Hancock. The only obstacle is competition in the form of Warner Bros. Discovery’s vaguely horror-ish Don’t Worry Darling on September 23 and Paramount’s Smile (whose terrific trailer played before most showings of Top Gun: Maverick) on September 30. I’d expect a $25-$35 million domestic finish, which may not ‘save theaters’ but will be good enough for this specific future cult favorite.

The other main release was also from Disney/20th Century Studios, specifically their Star Studios. As noted yesterday, Bollywood’s Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva pitched itself as India’s answer to Iron Man but frankly plays closer to The Mummy, overdosing on table-setting, mythology and universe-building at the expense of present-tense entertainment value. The $51 million action fantasy romance is the first in a planned Astraverse trilogy. Ayan Mukerji’s formulaic and plot > character franchise-starter earned $4.4 million (a 2.35x weekend multiplier). That’s well below the over/under $10 million debuts of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in 2017 and RRR this past March. However, it’s solid compared to other recent Indian biggies opening in North America. It outgrossed Saaho ($2.8 million) yesterday and will pass War ($4.7 million) by Monday or Tuesday.

Fathom Events distributed Lifemark in 1,531 theaters. The Kirk Cameron-starring, anti-abortion drama opened with around $2.17 million this weekend. That’s fine in terms of budget and expectations, but the Kendrick brothers recently released movies like Fireproof, Courageous, Overcomer and The War Room to conventional ($33-$67 million domestic) success. That’s more about the market than the genre or talent. Kevin Smith’s Clerks II was a traditional wide release, while Clerks III will get a Fathom-centric theatrical release. Granted, most of the earlier faith-based breakouts were from major studios. I’d also argue there’s a sharp difference between Veggie Tales-style Christian flicks (that’s a compliment) like Sony’s Soul Surfer, Lionsgate’s The Shack or even 20th Century Studios’ Breakthrough and arguable persecution-complex and/or explicitly anti-choice films like October Baby or God’s Not Dead 2.