It was a spooky weekend at the box office for nearly everyone but Tyler Perry.
Perry鈥檚 comedy sequel 鈥淏oo 2! A Madea Halloween鈥� scared up a healthy $21.7 million in its first weekend in theatres, but the waters were rough for other new openers including the disaster epic 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� the firefighter drama 鈥淥nly the Brave鈥� and the crime thriller 鈥淭he Snowman.鈥�
Made for a reported $25 million, Perry鈥檚 film drew a mostly older and female audience, who gave it an A- CinemaScore. 鈥淏oo 2!鈥� did a little less business than the first film, which opened to $28.5 million just last year.
鈥淕iven that it鈥檚 a sequel, its performance is at the higher end of our expectations,鈥� said David Spitz, who heads up domestic distribution for Lionsgate.
The studio expects the film to hold well into next weekend due to increased interest because of Halloween, but it will also face some competition with the horror pic 鈥淛igsaw.鈥�
But a slight drop for a sequel hardly compares to the catastrophe of 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� a long-delayed $120 million disaster epic starring Gerard Butler that only managed to open to $13.3 million from North American theatres.
A co-production between Skydance Media and Warner Bros. Pictures, 鈥淕eostorm鈥� marks the directorial debut of 鈥淚ndependence Day鈥� producer Dean Devlin. The film was shot back in late 2014 and lousy test screenings resulted in $15 million of reshoots, pushing back the release over a year and a half.
But the reshoots didn鈥檛 seem to help the final product, which has been widely panned by critics and shunned overall by audiences. Those who did turn out gave it a B- CinemaScore.
Another possibly too-timely film, 鈥淥nly the Brave,鈥� about the Granite Mountain Hotshots who took on the June 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, also failed to attract sufficient audiences this weekend. The Sony film starring Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges and Jennifer Connelly opened in fifth place with $6 million.
At $38 million, the production budget was more reasonable than 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� however.
But despite good reviews, it opened behind two holdovers 鈥� the horror pic 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� which landed in third place with $9.4 million and 鈥淏lade Runner 2049鈥� which took in $7.2 million in its third weekend in theatres.
Universal and Working Title鈥檚 鈥淭he Snowman,鈥� starring Michael Fassbender and based on the Jo Nesbo book, also failed to make a splash. The critically derided pic debuted in eighth place with $3.4 million from 1,812 theatres.
The director, Thomas Alfredson has been widely acknowledging the film鈥檚 shortcomings and confusing plot in the press, saying that they did not have time to shoot the entire script. Audiences gave it a deathly D CinemaScore.
Things looked a little brighter for the limited releases this weekend. Both playing in four theatres, the Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman film 鈥淭he Killing of a Sacred Deer,鈥� took in $114,585 and 鈥淲onderstruck,鈥� starring Julianne Moore,鈥� earned $68,762.
鈥淎s great as September was, October has been really scary,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for comScore.
Theatrical exhibitors and studio distribution heads are gathering in Miami Beach, Florida this week for the ShowEast Film Expo to discuss the state of movie going and it couldn鈥檛 come at a better time, when old truisms about what works and what doesn鈥檛 work at the box office are being challenged weekly.
Dergarabedian said even releasing a quality film isn鈥檛 a sure path to success anymore.
鈥淓ven well-reviewed movies like 鈥楢merican Made,鈥� 鈥極nly the Brave鈥� and 鈥楤lade Runner 2049鈥� are having trouble gaining traction,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
The industry will be looking to the big event films, like 鈥淭hor: Ragnarok,鈥� out Nov. 3, 鈥淛ustice League鈥� and 鈥淪tar Wars: The Last Jedi鈥� to get the year back to even.
鈥淭rying to figure out audiences and what they want is the key to the future. Audiences are voting with their presence or absence at the movie theatre,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e staying away now, but that might change in two weeks.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淏oo 2! A Madea Halloween,鈥� $21.7 million.
2. 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� $13.3 million ($36.4 million international).
3. 鈥淗appy Death Day,鈥� $9.4 million ($6.5 million international).
4. 鈥淏lade Runner 2049,鈥� $7.2 million ($14.3 million international).
5. 鈥淥nly the Brave,鈥� $6 million.
6. 鈥淭he Foreigner,鈥� $5.5 million ($2.7 million international).
7. 鈥淚t,鈥� $3.5 million ($12.8 million international).
8. 鈥淭he Snowman,鈥� $3.4 million ($6.6 million international).
9. 鈥淎merican Made,鈥� $3.2 million ($2.7 million international).
10. 鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle,鈥� $3 million ($48.7 million international).
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. 鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle,鈥� $48.7 million.
2. 鈥淕eostorm,鈥� $36.4 million.
3. 鈥淣ever Say Die,鈥� $15 million.
4. 鈥淏lade Runner 2049,鈥� $14.3 million.
5. 鈥淚t,鈥� $12.8 million.
6. 鈥淏ad Genius,鈥� $7.6 million.
7. 鈥淭he Outlaws,鈥� $6.8 million.
8. 鈥淭he Snowman,鈥� $6.6 million.
9. 鈥淗appy Death Day,鈥� $6.5 million.
10. 鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie,鈥� $4.7 million.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr
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This story has been corrected to show 鈥淏oo 2! A Madea Halloween鈥� was made for a reported $25 million, not $35 million
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
