Blumhouse’s long cold streak at the box office seems to be at an end, with The Black Phone 2 opening more or less in line with the predictions we posted earlier this week. While it’s still early, Deadline has the much-anticipated sequel opening in the $23 million range, which is fairly close to what the original opened with in 2021 (not adjusting for inflation). While that’s a solid number for a horror sequel, it seems unlikely it will have the same legs the original had, with it tapping out in the $91 million range domestically. It will likely perform similarly to Smile 2 last year and finish in the $50-60 million range. While maybe not enough to pave the way for a Black Phone 3, it’s the best opening Blumhouse has had for quite some time, and the B CinemaScore is actually quite good for a horror flick (the original did a bit better with a B+).
Sadly, comedies continue to struggle to find a foothold at the box office, with Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune likely to fall flat with a $6 million opening despite the combined star power of Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen, and a great B+ CinemaScore. It seems like audiences have been trained to watch comedies at home nowadays. Tron: Ares should easily surpass it for second place, with it on track for an $11.5 million second weekend, meaning it’s facing a steep 65% week 2 decline. This franchise is DEAD.
No word yet on how the Julia Roberts-led After the Hunt is faring, but with a C-minus CinemaScore, it seems like the latest star-led awards-bait movie to misfire commercially, following The Smashing Machine and Roofman. The latter should make about $3.5 million this weekend for a 55% decline in week two – which is steeper than expected. At least One Battle After Another is still pulling in viewers, with it likely to add in the $3.8 million range to its $61.7 million total.
What are you seeing this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
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