Paramount’s horror thriller “Smile” just keeps smiling at the box-office. The creepy thriller not only retained the top spot in its second weekend, but it did so beating expectations with an impressive $17.6 million sophomore run.
That’s a drop of just 22% from its debut, an incredibly small drop-off for a second weekend – doubly so for a horror film as works in the genre tend to burn out fast.
So far, the film has grossed $49.8 million in North America and $40 million overseas and all on a cost-effective $17 million budget and with a thrifty marketing campaign.
It also marks another victory for Paramount who is having a bumper year with “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Lost City,” “Scream” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” all proving hits.
Its fortune comes as everyone else didn’t do so well. The Shawn Mendes-led “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” came in under expectations with $11.5 million for the three days. With its $50 million budget and international appeal, it should still do alright for Sony and snagged a decent A- CinemaScore.
Less successful is David O. Russell’s star-studded period drama “Amsterdam” which earned an anemic $6.5 million in its debut weekend – not good for an $80 million budgeted film hit by bad reviews and minimal buzz.
“The Woman King” and “Don’t Worry Darling” came in fourth and fifth with $5.3 million (-24%) and $3.4 million (-50%) respectively. The “Avatar” re-release is in sixth with a further $2.6 million from 2,040 theaters, and after three weeks, had managed to add a further $95 million to its global box-office haul.
Billy Eichner’s gay rom-com “Bros” failed to turn its good reviews into capital, dropping 56% from its debut to $2.1 million and a seventh-place position.
The rom-com genre ain’t dead overseas though as the Julia Roberts and George Clooney-led “Ticket to Paradise,” which opened in several international markets early, has generated $60 million to date overseas. It opens on October 21st in the United States.
In limited release, both “Tár” and “Triangle of Sadness” did excellent business with $40,000 and $21,000 per screen averages on a handful of screens each.
Source: Variety
