If all goes as planned, Scott Derrickson’s sequel Black Phone 2 marks a significant turnaround for Blumhouse following a challenging series of box office performances, including the costly misstep of M3GAN 2.0 earlier this year.
Early indications point to a strong reception for Black Phone 2. The film dominated the Friday box office with an impressive opening day gross of $10.8 million, which includes $2.6 million from Thursday previews. Projections from Universal and Blumhouse estimate the weekend total to reach approximately $24.4 million from 3,411 theaters. Rivals within the industry suggest that the film may even exceed this forecast, with some anticipating a weekend tally closer to $26 million. Regardless, it is expected to secure a first-place finish following favorable reviews and strong audience scores, including a B CinemaScore—a commendable rating for the horror genre.
Heading into the weekend, Universal had initially expected the film to debut around $18 million. However, tracking data proved accurate in forecasting that this R-rated sequel was set to outperform its predecessor.
Opening in 2021, Black Phone debuted with a $23.6 million haul in North America, ultimately grossing over $161 million globally—a remarkable success that came prior to the onset of horror fatigue in the marketplace.
Black Phone 2 sees the return of Ethan Hawke as the serial killer known as Grabber. The sequel has garnered acclaim from numerous critics, including Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter, who noted, “Fortunately, this follow-up arriving four years later is no mere cash grab, but rather an even more stylistically and thematically ambitious effort that mostly succeeds in its aspirations.”
According to exit polling from PostTrak, the leading demographic for the film thus far is Latino audiences.
With a production budget of approximately $30 million, Blumhouse and Universal are poised to reclaim box office dominance, moving past Disney’s holdover hit Tron: Ares, which earned $3 million on Friday and is projected to finish its second weekend with around $11 million, signifying a steep drop of about 65%.
Lionsgate’s Good Fortune, directed by Aziz Ansari, also premiered nationwide this weekend but is falling short of expectations. This $30 million film earned $2.4 million on Friday from 2,990 locations, including $725,000 from previews, for an anticipated opening around $6 million—on the lower end of projections despite its star-studded cast and a B+ CinemaScore.
Good Fortune features a stellar lineup including Seth Rogen, Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, and Keanu Reeves, in which Reeves plays a scruffy guardian angel tasked with saving a soul.
Despite a higher critics’ score than Black Phone 2, with THR’s review describing the film as “coasting agreeably on all those good intentions thanks to the engaging ensemble and the breezily improvised feel to many of its funnier line readings,” it remains to be seen how it will fare against competitors.
Struggling for fourth place are Warner Bros.One Battle After Another and Paramount’s Roofman, both projected to earn around $3.7 million. Some forecasts suggest that Roofman may edge into fourth position, although Paramount is reporting a close fifth-place finish for its Channing Tatum-led comedy.
This story was originally published on Oct. 17 at 10:20 a.m.
Based on reporting by Hollywood Reporter. Read the full story at Hollywood Reporter.