October is ready to show its teeth, officially kicking off spooky season with back-to-back weeks of clowns and unsettling smiles. As the box office enters Q4, 2024 promises a strong finish. Tentpole releases Joker: Folie à Deux and Venom: The Last Dance bookend the month, while horror films Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 are expected to draw scary movie fans to theaters in the mid-October lead up to Halloween.
Joker: Folie à Deux | Warner Bros. Pictures
October 4 (PLF)
Although initially billed as a one-off, the surprise performance of Todd Phillips’ Oscar-winning Joker ($335.4M domestic/$1 billion global) back in 2019 has led to a sequel—albeit one expected to arrive with significantly diminishing returns. Critical reception and early audience response has been mixed, and though the marketing campaign started off strong with a trailer drop timed to Warner Bros.’ 2024 CinemaCon presentation, confusion surrounding the musical aspect of the film appears to have dampened excitement among fans. The comic book movie fan base traditionally books tickets in advance, leading to strong presales and subsequently a front-loaded opening weekend. Presales for Folie à Deux, however, have been decidedly lackluster, driving opening weekend forecasting below the $100M mark that initially seemed like a sure thing.
White Bird | Lionsgate
October 4
After years of setbacks and release date changes, White Bird (previously subtitled ‘A Wonder Story‘) is finally set to hit theaters. The pseudo-sequel to 2017’s Wonder ($132.4M domestic/$315M global) follows the character of Julian (Bryce Gheisar), who has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay in Wonder). His grandmother (Helen Mirren) helps him by revealing her own story of survival in Nazi-occupied France. The film is directed by Marc Forster (A Man Called Otto, $64.2M domestic/$113.3M global) and based on R.J. Palacio’s book.
Saturday Night | Sony Pictures
October 11 (Wide)
Filmmaking duo and Village Theater co-owners Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, $113.3M domestic, $201.8M global and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, $129.3M domestic/$204.3M global) hang up their proton packs to tackle the origin story of Saturday Night Live. Per the film’s synopsis, on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television—and culture—forever. Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Gil Kenan & Reitman, Saturday Night is based on the true story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
Terrifier 3 | Iconic Events
October 11
The run-up to Halloween continues with Iconic Events’ mid-October release of Terrifier 3, the latest in a cult-favorite horror franchise known for its extreme gore. While Terrifier 3 lacks the sheer earning power of other, more mainstream horror titles opening in the coming weeks, it’s considered a major title among the diehard horror crowd. According to the synopsis, after surviving Art the Clown’s Halloween massacre, final girl Sienna and her brother are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. As the holiday season approaches, they try to embrace the Christmas spirit and leave the horrors of the past behind. Just when they think they’re safe, Art the Clown returns, determined to turn their holiday cheer into a new nightmare.
Smile 2 | Paramount Pictures
October 18
Paramount’s unexpected 2022 hit horror film Smile–which was originally slated for a streaming release —generated $105.9M domestic and $217.4M at the global box office. The success of the film owed a lot to its innovative marketing campaign, which saw people frozen in creepy smiles popping up at MLB & NFL games and outside morning shows. According to the synopsis, Smile 2 follows global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) as she starts to experience terrifying and inexplicable events. Overwhelmed by fame and horror, Skye is forced to face her dark past before her life and career spiral out of control. The film is again written and directed by Parker Finn.
Venom: The Last Dance | Sony Pictures
October 25
The Venom franchise is the biggest success story of Sony’s live-action Spider-Man universe. While titles like Morbius ($39M domestic opening, $73.8M domestic total) and Madame Web ($15.3M domestic opening, $43.8 domestic total) failed to land with audiences, the Venom films have been remarkably consistent at the box office. Both films opened in the first weekend of October, and though they opened approximately $10M apart—$80.2M for 2018’s Venom and $90M for 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage—their domestic runs both topped out at $213.5M. Let There Be Carnage outgrossed the first Venom by a mere $38,958 domestically. The Last Dance is tracking for a possible series opening record, with the success of Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage driving expectations for The Last Dance‘s late-October release date. The announcement that this will be the last entry in the franchise should help its performance, as should a relative lack of superhero movies hitting theaters in 2024.
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