After a record-breaking start, October鈥檚 box office closed out quietly this weekend with 鈥淒une鈥� repeating at number one and two prominent genre newcomers, 鈥� Last Night in Soho 鈥� and 鈥淎ntlers,鈥� stumbling.
Whether it鈥檚 due to Halloween falling on a Sunday, too many new options or simply a lack of enthusiasm, moviegoing audiences seemed to have other plans this weekend. Notable exceptions are the latest 鈥淢y Hero Academia鈥� and the new Wes Anderson pic 鈥淭he French Dispatch.鈥�
First place still went to the bigger budget and wider release Timoth茅e Chalamet film. In its second weekend in theaters, 鈥淒une,鈥� which is also available on HBO Max, grossed an additional $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Although down a steep 62% from its debut, the ticket sales were enough to give it one more week atop the North American charts.
With a production budget of $165 million (not including marketing and promotion), 鈥淒une鈥� has now grossed $69.4 million in North America and $292.1 million globally. Warner Bros. and Legendary last week confirmed plans to go ahead with a sequel that is expected to open exclusively in theaters in 2023.
鈥淗alloween Kills,鈥� in its third weekend, placed second with $8.5 million. The penultimate film in this modern trilogy has now grossed $115.1 million globally.
Edgar Wright鈥檚 鈥淟ast Night in Soho,鈥� meanwhile, opened in sixth place. Playing on 3,016 screens, the stylish thriller distributed by Focus grossed an estimated $4.2 million. Thomasin McKenzie stars as a modern-day fashion student who at night dreams increasingly realistic dreams of Anya Taylor-Joy鈥檚 aspiring singer in the 1960s.
鈥淭here are few bigger champions of the theatrical experience than Edgar and we couldn鈥檛 be prouder he has made Focus his home,鈥� said Lisa Bunnell, Focus鈥� president of distribution.
Scott Cooper鈥檚 鈥� Antlers,鈥� about a mythical beast terrorizing a blighted Oregon town, also earned an estimated $4.2 million from 2,800 locations. The Searchlight-distributed horror stars Keri Russell and Jesse Plemons.
鈥淥bviously, we hoped for a little more but we went up head to head against 鈥楲ast Night in Soho,鈥� another really good genre film,鈥� said Frank Rodriguez, Searchlight鈥檚 head of distribution. 鈥淭hey may have cancelled each other out.鈥�
But he鈥檚 optimistic going forward since next weekend鈥檚 big releases include the Princess Diana film 鈥淪pencer鈥� and the Marvel epic 鈥淓ternals,鈥� and 鈥淎ntlers鈥� has a different audience.
One of the brighter spots of the weekend was 鈥� The French Dispatch,鈥� also distributed by Searchlight, which expanded after a limited debut and made $2.8 million from only 788 total locations. In 10 days of release, it鈥檚 made $4.6 million.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still ecstatic about it,鈥� Rodriguez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to see art house theaters who haven鈥檛 seen numbers like this in 18 months finally starting to see people coming out 鈥� We are helping to open up the doors to art house and specialty theaters.鈥�
Although the weekend was muted, October has become the highest grossing month of the year with total grosses expected to net out around $625 million. The previous high-water mark came in July with $583.8 million.
鈥淥ctober became a blockbuster month by virtue of the unusual nature of the pandemic. So many big movies moved into October,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淚t surpassed July. That never happens.鈥�
Things aren鈥檛 quite back to 鈥渘ormal鈥� yet. For comparison, total grosses in pre-pandemic October 2019 were around $781.6 million and in 2018 were $830.8 million. But, Dergarabedian said the robust October 2021 box office has created a momentum that should continue through the end of the year.
鈥淭his sets up a final three months of the year that feel more like summer than summer did in 2021,鈥� he added. 鈥淎udiences follow the movie no matter what month they鈥檙e in. The movies define the month 鈥� the month doesn鈥檛 define the movies.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淒une,鈥� $15.5 million.
2. 鈥淗alloween Kills,鈥� $8.5 million.
3. 鈥淣o Time To Die,鈥� $7.8 million.
4. 鈥淢y Hero Academia: World Heroes鈥� Mission,鈥� $6.4 million.
5. 鈥淰enom: Let There Be Carnage,鈥� $5.8 million.
6. 鈥淎ntlers,鈥� $4.2 million.
7. 鈥淟ast Night in Soho,鈥� $4.2 million.
8. 鈥淩on鈥檚 Gone Wrong,鈥� $3.8 million.
9. 鈥淭he Addams Family 2,鈥� $3.3 million.
10. 鈥淭he French Dispatch,鈥� $2.8 million.
鈥�-
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
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