The horror sequel “Black Phone 2” topped the North American field workplace charts this weekend with $26.5 million in ticket gross sales, in response to studio estimates Sunday. Not solely did it surpass the unique’s $23.6 million debut, it is a much-needed win for Blumhouse after a string of disappointments this yr like “M3GAN 2.0.”
Although “Black Phone 2” opened consistent with expectations, moviegoing in October continues to be gradual — down about 11% from final yr, in response to Comscore. The general field workplace remains to be up about 4% in contrast with final yr, however an enormous blockbuster hit that would spark extra momentum won’t arrive till late November or December.
Common Photos launched “Black Phone 2” in 3,411 theaters in North America on a wave of excellent evaluations. Coming 4 years after the unique, the sequel sees the return of filmmaker Scott Derrickson, in addition to stars Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames. Opening weekend audiences have been 63% between the ages of 18 and 34, in response to exit polls, and the most important demographic was Hispanics, making up 39% of ticket patrons whereas Caucasians accounted for 35%.
With an extra $15.5 million from 71 worldwide territories, “Black Phone 2” had a $42 million worldwide launch towards a reported $30 million manufacturing funds.
“It’s a fantastic opening,” stated Jim Orr, who heads Common’s home distribution. “Our great partners in Scott Derrickson and Blumhouse once again took this property and crafted an unbelievably haunting, chilling story that audiences just simply couldn’t get enough of.”
The primary “Black Phone” was a little bit of a sleeper hit for Common and Blumhouse in 2021 as cinemas have been starting to come back again to life after COVID shutdowns. By the tip of its run, it had earned greater than $161 million worldwide towards an $18 million funds.
Blumhouse has had a rocky 2025, with a handful of duds together with “Wolf Man” and “The Woman in the Yard.” However the as soon as impenetrable horror hitmaker could possibly be on the upswing once more with a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” sequel coming in December. The primary film earned practically $300 million worldwide.
The horror style on the whole has soared to record-breaking heights this yr, with hits like “Weapons” and the multi-genre “Sinners,” producing over $1.2 billion for the business, famous Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of market developments.
“Black Phone 2” was additionally the one movie to actually break by means of this weekend, regardless of a slew of choices enjoying in broad launch together with the R-rated Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves comedy “Good Fortune,” which opened in 2,990 places to $6.2 million, and the growth of the Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield drama “After the Hunt,” which made $1.6 million from 1,238 theaters. Additionally new in theaters is Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” though Netflix doesn’t report field workplace grosses.
“Tron: Ares” fell about 67% to $11.1 million in its second weekend in theaters, which was sufficient to snag second place on the charts. Globally it has now earned $103 million.
“Good Fortune,” which opened in third place, had principally constructive evaluations on its aspect, however Ansari’s comedy with a aspect of social commentary didn’t drum up loads of enthusiasm in its first weekend. With a B+ CinemaScore, although, it seemingly has a greater likelihood within the coming weeks than the campus drama “After the Hunt,” which obtained a really poor C- rating.
“This is a quintessential October for movies, meaning this is not a hotbed of box office blockbusters,” stated Dergarabedian. “But the marketplace is flush with titles. This is awards season; this is where you have a lot of auteur driven films, edgier films. Collectively these don’t generate a ton of box office, but there’s the currency of goodwill created with movie fans.”
Subsequent weekend audiences will get one other batch of awards-hopefuls, together with Yorgos Lanthimos’s newest Emma Stone collaboration “Bugonia” and the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” starring “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White.
Prime 10 motion pictures by home field workplace
With ultimate home figures being launched Monday, this checklist components within the estimated ticket gross sales for Friday by means of Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, in response to Comscore:
1. “Black Phone 2,” $26.5 million.
2. “Tron: Ares,” $11.1 million.
3. “Good Fortune,” $6.2 million.
4. “One Battle After Another,” $4 million.
5. “Roofman,” $3.7 million.
6. “Truth & Treason,” $2.7 million.
7. “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” $1.7 million.
8. “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” $1.6 million.
9. “After the Hunt,” $1.6 million.
10. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle,” $1.3 million.
