Over the past few years, the third weekend in October has proven to be the most competitive, for whatever reason. This year, five new movies were ushered into theaters in wide release, one of which didn’t make the top 10 (Same Kind of Different As Mein 12th place with $2.6 million), and one of which debuted in the top spot, Tyler Perry’sBoo 2! a Madea Halloween. The horror-comedy sequel followed in its predecessor’s footsteps as a modestbox office hit, taking the top spot with $21.6 million, while the rest of its competitors managed to underperform.
Thehorror comedy sequelcomes almost exactly a year after its predecessor,Boo! A Madea Halloweenopened in theaters by taking the top spot at the box office with $28.5 million, in a crowded weekend where it beat three more newcomers,Jack Reacher: Never Go Back($22.8 million),Ouija: Origin of Evil($14 million) andKeeping Up With the Joneses($5.4 million). This year the Madea sequel opened with a modest rollout of 2,388 theaters, but it posted the best per-screen average among wide releases with $9,066. It has already come close to earning back its $25 million budget back, which will likely happen over the next day or two.
After venturing to a haunted campground, Madea, Bam and Hattie must run for their lives when monsters, goblins and the boogeyman appear. The original idea forBoo! A Madea Halloweencame during the making of comedian Chris Rock’s directorial effortTop Five, where the actor/director approached Tyler Perry about making a fake Halloween movie forTop Five. Lionsgate then approachedfilmmaker Tyler Perry, suggesting that he actually make the movie for real. Last year’sBoo! A Madea Halloweendebuted atop the box office last October with $28.5 million, in a very crowded weekend that also includedJack Reacher: Never Go Back,Ouija: Origins of EvilandKeeping Up With the Joneses. It ended up making $74.8 million worldwide ($73.2 million coming from the U.S.) from a $20 million budget.
Warner Bros.disaster movie Geostormdebuted in second place with $13.3 million, opening in 3,246 theaters for a middling $4,097 per-screen average. It also earned $49.6 million overseas for a worldwide total of $62.5 million, which represents roughly half of the movie’s $120 million budget. After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world’s leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.
Rounding out the top 5 are last weekend’s winnerHappy Death Day, dropping a whopping 64% to third place with $9.3 million withBlade Runner 2049in fourth place with $7.1 million and newcomerOnly the Bravein fifth place with $6 million, opening in 2,577 theaters for a dreadful $2,332 per-screen average. Through hope, determination, sacrifice and the drive to protect families and communities, theGranite Mountain Hotshotsbecome one of the most elite firefighting teams in the country. While most people run from danger, they run toward it, watching over lives, homes and everything people hold dear, forging a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire in Yarnell, Ariz.
Rounding out the top 10 isThe Foreigner($5.4 million),IT($3.5 million),The Snowman($3.4 million),American Made($3.1 million) andKingsman: The Golden Circle($3 million). Opening in limited release this weekend is Music Box Films' documentaryAida’s Secrets, which earned $5,068 from one theater, Reliance Films' foreign movieGolmaal Again, which earned just over $1 million from 265 theaters for a $3,807 per-screen average, A24’sThe Killing of the Sacred Deer, which took in an impressive $114,585 from four theaters for a stellar $28,646 per-screen average, The Orchard’s foreign filmBPM (Beats Per Minute), which earned $8,721 from two theaters for a $4,361 per-screen average, Gunpowder & Sky’s horror-comedyTragedy Girls, which took in $10,677 from two theaters for a $5,339 per-screen average, Abramorama’s documentaryJane, which earned $55,712 from three theaters for a $18,571 per-screen average and Roadside Attractions' comedyWonderstruckwhich took in $68,762 from just four theaters for an impressive $17,191 per-screen average. No box office data was released for Freestyle Releasing’s dramaThe Bachelors, IFC’s documentaryDealt, TriCoast Worldwide’s horror filmLet Her Out, Vertical Entertainment’s thrillersNever HereandThe Strange Ones, Well Go USA’s thrillerRV: Resurrected Victimsand The Orchard’s documentaryThe Work.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the month of October will come to a close with four more new movies arriving in wide release, Lionsgate’sJigsaw, the eighth entry in the iconicSawfranchise, Universal’sThank You For Your Service, Paramount’sSuburbiconand Open Road Films’All I See Is You. Also arriving in limited release, is Vertical Entertainment’s comedyCrash Pad, Cohen Media Group’s dramaDaughter of the Nile, Strand’s music dramaFelicite, Dada Films' dramaGod’s Own Country, Cinedigm’s comedy/dramaThe Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards, Atlas Distribution’s dramaLet There be Light, Sony Pictures Classics' dramaNovitiateand Magnolia’s comedyThe Square. Take a look at the top 10 estimates for the weekend of October 20, courtesy ofBox Office Mojo, and check back on Tuesday for next weekend’s predictions.
