Following an uneventful Labor Day weekend at the box office, September promises to resurrect audiences, beginning with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on September 6th, by far the biggest release of the month. A pair of robot-themed animated films, Transformers One and The Wild Robot, are expected to be the biggest openers outside of Burton’s spooky sequel. And, as the Halloween season approaches, the month will also see a number of genre-focused films, including The Front Room, Speak No Evil, The Substance, Never Let Go, Azrael, Bagman, and the 10th anniversary re-release of The Babadook.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Warner Bros. Pictures
September 6 (PLF)
Tim Burton’s nostalgia-aimed sequel continues to gain traction leading into opening weekend. 36 years after the original 1988 horror comedy Beetlejuice ($73.7M domestic), Tim Burton reunites with actors Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara for another look at the afterlife. The film marks Burton’s return to the big screen following his 2019 Disney adaptation Dumbo ($114.7M domestic/$353.2M global). The nostalgia factor is high for older audiences, while younger moviegoers will likely be drawn in by Jenna Ortega, playing Lydia Deetz’s daughter Astrid. The actress already helped successfully launch one franchise reboot with 2022’s Scream and gained a massive fan base following the success of Burton’s Netflix Addams Family adaptation “Wednesday”.
The Killer’s Game | Lionsgate
September 13
The studio behind the John Wick series continues a tradition of theatrically released action with The Killer’s Game, starring Dave Bautista as a hitman who (thinking he has a terminal disease) places an uncancellable hit on himself. As it turns out, he isn’t dying after all. Other recent action films from Lionsgate include January’s The Beekeeper ($66.2M domestic/$152.7M global) and April’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare ($20.5M domestic/$27.2M global). Though Bautista has been a part of successful ensemble sci-fi epics such as the Guardians of the Galaxy films, the Dune series, and Blade Runner 2049, he hasn’t managed to cross over as a leading man in action films in the same way actors like Jason Statham.
Speak No Evil | Universal Pictures
September 13
This English-language remake of a 2022 Danish film co-stars James McAvoy in a performance that recalls the unhinged character he played in 2017’s Split ($138.2M domestic/$278.4M global) and 2019’s Glass ($111M domestic/$246.9M global)—Speak No Evil producer Blumhouse’s third and fifth highest domestic earners of all time. Recent horror title comps more in line with expectations for this release include 2022’s Barbarian ($10.5M domestic opening) and Smile ($22.6M domestic opening), and last year’s Knock at the Cabin ($14.1M domestic opening).
Transformers One | Paramount Pictures
September 20
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $40M – $50M [as of 9/3]
Paramount’s Transformers One is the first theatrically released animated Transformers film since Transformers: The Movie all the way back in 1986. This latest film in the Transformers franchise takes audiences back centuries to the adolescent days of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and the rest of the gang as they get into adventures on their home planet. As an animated spin-off, Transformers One is expected to perform on a different scale compared to its live-action counterparts, but premium formats (including 3D) and its position as the first animated wide release since Despicable Me 4 could help position the film for success with family audiences. Transformers One has a solid shot at surpassing 2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2 ($48.4M domestic opening, $169.7M domestic total) to become the biggest-ever September opening for an animated film. Though the bulk of 2024’s remaining animated films (Disney’s Moana 2, Mufasa, and Warner Bros.’ The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) will release later in the year, Transformers One will see some competition in its second frame with Universal’s The Wild Robot.
Never Let Go | Lionsgate
September 20
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $7M – $10M [as of 9/3]
Director Alexandre Aja (Crawl $39M domestic/$91.5M global) and the producers of “Stranger Things” and Arrival team with Halle Berry for the psychological thriller Never Let Go. When a mysterious evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, a mother and her twin sons tether themselves to the house with ropes. When one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed. The counter-programmer from Lionsgate benefits from the presence of Oscar-winner Berry and a release leading into the Halloween box office season but will face competition from horror titles Azrael and Bagman in its second frame.
Megalopolis | Lionsgate
September 27
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $4M – $8M [as of 9/3]
Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis has been fraught with challenges; from reports of misconduct on the set, to difficulty in landing a distributor, to the mixed reception at Cannes, to—most recently—a marketing campaign that used seemingly AI-generated quotes attributed to famous film critics. The film managed to landed an IMAX release and found a home at Lionsgate. Time will tell if the general negativity surrounding Megalopolis in the weeks leading up to its release will sour its box office potential. If Megalopolis crosses the $5M mark on opening weekend, it will be the first time a Coppola-helmed film has done so since 2000’s Supernova ($6.7M domestic opening, $14.2M domestic total).
The Wild Robot | Universal Pictures
September 27
Domestic Opening Weekend Range: $25M – $30M [as of 9/3]
The second September animated film about robots releases on the heels of Transformers One. While it lacks the IP hook of the long-standing Transformers franchise, The Wild Robot is based on an extremely popular and award-winning children’s book series. With three books in the series so far (2016’s The Wild Robot, 2017’s The Wild Robot Escapes, and 2023’s The Wild Robot Protects), the film boasts franchise potential. The film follows a robot (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o) who is shipwrecked on a deserted island and develops a mother-child bond with an orphaned gosling. The trailer—which debuted at CinemaCon earlier this year—was well-received by those in attendance, drawing comparisons to 1999’s animated tearjerker The Iron Giant.
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