Three new films were no match for Ghost With the Most as “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” re-emerged high on the domestic charts.
Tim Burton’s creepy sequel added a whopping $51.6 million in its second weekend of release, bringing its total to $188 million.
In terms of newcomers, “Speak No Evil,” Universal and Blumhouse’s remake of the 2022 Danish horror film, opened in second place with $11.5 million from 3,375 locations. Comedian Matt Walsh’s satire documentary “Am I Racist?” landed in fourth place with a decent $4.75 million from 1,517 theaters. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s “The Killer’s Game” with Dave Bautista failed to connect, debuting at No. 6 with $2.6 million from 2,623 locations.
James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis star in ‘Speak No Evil’, a pitch-black comedy about a couple who invite two friends to their idyllic, secluded country home for a holiday. Reviews and audience scores were positive, which could help with word of mouth. The film also opened internationally with $9.3 million from 73 markets, for a worldwide opening of $20.8 million.
Since “Speak No Evil” cost $15 million, it will have a good position at the box office. But the film continues a mundane year for horror, which is usually one of the most reliable movie genres. Recent films like “Beetlejuice,” Disney’s “Alien: Romulus” ($330 million) and Neon’s sleeper hit “Longlegs” ($103 million) have surfaced, but Blumhouse-produced films like Universal’s “Night Swim” ($54 million), Lionsgate’s “Imaginary” ($39 million) and Sony’s “Afraid” ($10 million) failed to strike a chord.
Of course, Blumhouse is known for responsible budgets. So some of those films may have managed to turn a profit. But the company’s down year is grim because 2022 and 2023 were particularly big for the low-budget house of scares with ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ ($292 million), ‘Insidious 5’ ($189 million), ‘Exorcist: Believer’ ($136). million) and “M3GAN” ($180 million). In any case, analysts believe Blumhouse will return to form with 2025 sequels, including “M3GAN 2.0,” “Black Phone 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.”
“Blumhouse sets a high standard for the genre,” said David A. Gross, who heads the film consultancy Franchise Entertainment Research. “In a good year, Blumhouse could be, dollar for dollar, the most profitable manufacturing company in the industry.”
Elsewhere, Disney and Marvel’s superhero sequel “Deadpool & Wolverine” slipped to third with $5.2 million from 3,075 theaters in its eighth weekend of release. The R-rated film, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, has been in the top three for eight weeks in a row and has grossed a massive $621.5 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide to date.
Dennis Quaid’s biopic “Reagan” rounded out the top five with $2.9 million from 2,450 theaters in its third weekend on the big screen. The film, which charts the life of former President Ronald Reagan, has grossed $23 million to date.
In limited release, “My Old Ass,” a coming-of-age comedy directed by Megan Park and starring Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza, grossed $171.242 million from seven locations in New York, Los Angeles and Austin. Those ticket sales translate to a solid $24,535 per location. Next weekend, the Amazon MGM film expands to 32 theaters in 10 markets, followed by a wide release on September 26.
