‘Smile’ Tops Again As ‘Bros’ Plunges 64%

In holdover news at the Friday box office, Paramount’sPARA
Smile had a spectacular hold. The $17 million, R-rated original (based on the writer/director’s own short film) earned another $5.365 million (-35%) on Friday for a likely $17 million (-24%) second-weekend gross. That’s a hold right between Get Out (-15% after a $33.3 million debut in 2017) and A Quiet Place (-34% after a $50 million debut in 2018), and it’s another sign that a B- Cinemascore is closer to an A when it comes to horror movies. Parker Finn’s crowdpleasing chiller will have $50 million domestic by day ten as it tops the weekend box office for a second time. Halloween Ends will surely top next weekend, but I’d argue Smile and Barbarian ($629,000 on Friday for a $2.1 million weekend and $36 million 31-day total) will linger longer in the zeitgeist.

Smile has positioned itself as the event film of the Halloween season, not unlike how Gladiator was the big summer event movie of 2000, even as Mission: Impossible II still earned more. Think, offhand, Paranormal Activity riding into theaters just as Saw was wearing out its welcome in 2009. It’s another triumph for the Viacom-owned studio which has been having a theatrical comeback for the ages (with Babylon still on deck for Christmas). It’s another win for horror, which has been almost single-handedly keeping theaters alive amid the Covid-era recovery in between tentpoles. Amusingly enough, the top ten this weekend will be book-ended with Smile at #1 and Bloody Disgusting’s limited theatrical release (850 theaters from Thurs-to-Mon, with most theaters playing the film once or twice at night) of Terrifier 2 at #10, with 20th Century Studios’ Barbarian in eighth place.

Sony’s The Woman King earned $1.35 million (-24%) on its fourth Friday, setting the stage for a $5.25 million (-23%) weekend and $54.1 million 24-day cume. The Viola Davis/Lashana Lynch/John Boyega action drama is still legging out like a champ, implying that it’ll end up closer to $70 million domestic than $60 million. I remain curious as to whether its commercial success (especially compared, most likely, to other would-be award-season releases) will further increase its profile in the Oscar race. And, yeah, it’s another reminder that online #BoycottTheWomanKing hashtags were irrelevant to those not perpetually online. For that matter, Don’t Worry Darling grossed $1.15 million (-50%) on Friday. That positions the Olivia Wilde-directed thriller for a $3.5 million (-49%) weekend, a $38.4 million 17-day cume and likely over/under $50 million domestic finish. Again, the online gossip didn’t matter to the real world.

Universal’s much-discussed Bros neither held firm nor collapsed in weekend two. Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller’s same-sex romantic comedy earned $670,000 (-64%) on Friday for a likely $2.3 million (-53%) weekend and a miserable $9.044 million ten-day total. Had the film opened bigger, a 53% drop would have been ‘fine, whatever,’ but it’s a moderate drop for a movie that opened poorly in the first place. Say it with me now… online discourse doesn’t translate into real-world interest. 20th Century Studios’ Avatar remained in theaters past the promised 14-day run, shocker I know, earning $655,000 (-45%) on Friday for a $2.64 million (-41%) weekend and $23.4 million 17-day cume. India’s momentarily successful Ponniyin Selvan: Part One earned just $270,000 on Friday, dropping 87% and setting the stage for a $960,000 (-76%) weekend and $5.766 million ten-day total. This was absolutely a one-weekend wonder.