1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Warner Bros. | Week 2
$51.6M Domestic Weekend
$188.1M Domestic Cume | $264.3M Global Cume
As expected, Warner Bros.’ legacy comedy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice took a 50%+ dive in its second frame, though not particularly steep (53%) after a $111M opening bow. It brought in an estimated $51.6M over the 3-Day in 4,575 theaters (n/c) with a $11,301 PSA. This was enough to remain at the top spot, although its hold is nothing compared to the original Beetlejuice in 1988, which had an $8M #1 opening in April of 1988 on 1000 screens and then went up on its sophomore #1 frame with $8.66M (+8%). That first movie maintained mostly under-20% drops for the majority of its 9 wide release frames, a feat much more difficult in this day and age of front-loaded openings.
Let’s also compare the drop to the 2nd weekend of the last five big Tim Burton movies. As you can see, it’s neither a particularly strong hold nor anything to be alarmed about…
- Frankenweenie (2012) – $7,054,334 million (-38% drop)
- Alice in Wonderland (2010) – $62,714,076 (-46% drop)
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016) – $15,141,789 million (-48% drop)
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) – $51,700,000 million (-53% drop)
- Dark Shadows (2012) – $12,583,338 million (-58% drop)
- Dumbo (2019) – $18,213,967 million (-60% drop)
Here’s how the 3-Day looked for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s second frame, with a robust Saturday…
- Friday – $14.6M
- Saturday – $22.5M
- Sunday – $14.6M
Internationally—where Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is lagging behind its domestic performance—the movie took in an additional $28.7M this weekend on 14,739 screens in 76 markets, bringing the overseas cume to $76.3M and $264.3M worldwide. The top 3 territories so far are the UK ($19.1M), Mexico ($11.1M), and France, with $4.9M in its French debut. Germany also posted an impressive $2.3M opening bow. Global IMAX take this frame was $4.7M, driving the global cume for the large format to $17.6M. The final overseas market to open will be Japan on September 27.
2. Speak No Evil
Universal Pictures/Blumhouse | NEW
$11.5M Domestic Opening Weekend
$20.817M Global Cume
Universal and Blumhouse’s domestic horror flick Speak No Evil opened to a projected $11.5M in 3,375 for a $3,407 PSA over its 3-Day debut, under our pre-release expectations for this title. Not only that, it is also lower than middling performer Night Swim‘s $11.7M opening bow back in January, and the next-lowest opening in Blumhouse’s history is 2018’s BlacKkKlansman with $10.8M on only 1,512 screens.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked…
- Friday – $4.88M
- Saturday – $3.99M
- Sunday – $2.63M
The fact that McAvoy hasn’t opened a major movie since 2019’s IT: Chapter Two didn’t improve the outcome, and the domestic violence realism/child endangerment inherent in Speak No Evil may have proved a turnoff. Any way you cut it this has not been Blumhouse’s year with this, Afraid, Imaginary, and Night Swim all underperforming.
Said underperformance for this new title is surprising given that it’s a rare film that critics and audiences appear to be appreciating in unison, earning 85% critical AND audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore. Perhaps word-of-mouth will drive this one to solid holds in the weeks to come, although next week’s family survival horror flick Never Let Go (starring Halle Berry) could steal its thunder.
Internationally Speak No Evil earned $9.317M at 15,425 locations in 73 territories for a global cume of $20.817M. The Top 3 territories are the UK ($1.838M), Mexico ($813K), and Spain ($759K). In Denmark, where the 2022 movie which this was remade from originated, it opened at #6 earning only $41K at 53 locations to ultimately be the #41 overseas territory.
4. Am I Racist?
SDG Releasing/The Daily Wire | NEW
$4.75M Domestic Opening Weekend
Agitprop documentary Am I Racist?, starring political activist Matt Walsh posing as a right-wing Sacha Baron Cohen derivative undermining the concept of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts, earned $4.75M from 1,517 screens for a $3,131 PSA in its opening frame to land at #4 on the charts. The film performed particularly well in conservative Southern, Midwest, and Mountain State markets.
- Friday – $1.96M
- Saturday – $1.55M
- Sunday – $1.24M
The film was put out by The Daily Wire, the conservative-leaning digital media company founded by Jeremy Boreing and Ben Shapiro in 2015. The title opened at a similar level to the wide expansion of another election-year conservative-leaning documenatry, 2016’s Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, which took in $3.9M over its first weekend of national availability before capping its theatrical run at $13M.
6. The Killer’s Game
Lionsgate | NEW
$2.6M Domestic Opening Weekend
Lionsgate’s struggles at the box office continued with The Killer’s Game, headlined by Dave Bautista, which opened to an underwhelming $2.6M from 2,623 locations for a $991 PSA. That’s below The Crow‘s $4.6M late August bow, and not much better than the Tyrese Gibson thriller 1992‘s $1.4M Labor Day opening on only 875 screens.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked…
- Friday – $1.065M
- Saturday – $945K
- Sunday – $590K
Although it received a B+ CinemaScore and 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the critical was at the bottom of a well with 33%, and the decision to withhold the movie from advance screenings to generate buzz might have cost the movie a lot. The logline (a hitman orders a hit on himself after being mistakenly diagnosed as terminal, then can’t call it off) may have been a little too convoluted to sell in 30-second ads. While Bautista has been an important part of some of the biggest franchises out there (Marvel, Dune, Bond, Blade Runner), he has yet to prove he can open a film as the headliner.
Other Notable Performances
Am I Racist? wasn’t the only conservative-themed movie to land on the charts this week. God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust took in $1.46M on 1,392 screens to land at #7, reporting a $1,054 PSA. This is the fifth film in the fictional God’s Not Dead franchise, with the first opening in 2014 to $9.2M before going on to earn $60M domestically. In God We Trust is actually the lowest-opening of the five, although the last film went straight to home video in 2021. It also earned $360,188 thousand in Thursday previews.
The GKIDS screening event for anime series DAN DA DAN: First Encounter, a special program of three episodes plus behind-the-scenes interviews, took in $1,005,531 million on 610 screens to land at the #12 position this week. This is actually better than GKIDS’ re-release earlier this year of The End of Evangelion, which only took in $603,219 opening weekend.
Amazon/MGM’s limited release of the comedy My Old Ass starring Aubrey Plaza took in $171,743 million at 7 locations across New York, Los Angeles, and Austin for an impressive $24,535 PSA, easily the highest PSA of the weekend. They will expand wider on September 27.
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates | Weekend 37 – 2024
Total 3-Day Domestic Estimates: $93,613,388M | (+33% vs 2023)
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | $51,600,000 | -54% | 4,575 | n/c | $11,279 | $188,006,000 | 2 | Warner Bros. |
| Speak No Evil | $11,500,000 | 3,375 | $3,407 | $11,500,000 | 1 | Universal | ||
| Deadpool & Wolverine | $5,200,000 | -26% | 3,075 | -325 | $1,691 | $621,495,644 | 8 | Walt Disney |
| Am I Racist? | $4,750,000 | 1,517 | $3,131 | $4,750,000 | 1 | SDG Releasing | ||
| Reagan | $2,964,040 | 2,450 | 1,210 | $23,300,195 | 3 | Showbiz Direct | ||
| The Killer’s Game | $2,600,000 | 2,623 | $991 | $2,600,000 | 1 | Lionsgate | ||
| Alien: Romulus | $2,400,000 | -39% | 1,950 | -610 | $1,231 | $101,276,041 | 5 | 20th Century… |
| It Ends With Us | $2,025,000 | -45% | 2,209 | -641 | $917 | $144,878,000 | 6 | Sony Pictures |
| The Forge | $2,010,000 | -33% | 1,614 | -96 | $1,245 | $24,104,000 | 4 | Sony Pictures |
| God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust | $1,466,812 | 1,392 | $1,054 | $1,827,000 | 1 | Fathom Events | ||
| Twisters | $1,200,000 | -44% | 1,399 | -853 | $858 | $266,390,000 | 9 | Universal |
| Despicable Me 4 | $1,100,000 | -40% | 1,516 | -403 | $726 | $359,413,000 | 11 | Universal |
| DAN DA DAN: First Encounter | $1,005,531 | 610 | $1,648 | $1,005,531 | 1 | GKIDS | ||
| Trap | $800,000 | -40% | 221 | -120 | $3,620 | $42,482,000 | 7 | Warner Bros. |
| The Front Room | $427,756 | -73% | 1,622 | -473 | $264 | $2,671,721 | 2 | A24 |
| Inside Out 2 | $402,000 | -48% | 700 | -260 | $574 | $652,538,284 | 14 | Walt Disney |
| The Critic | $200,000 | 556 | $360 | $200,000 | 1 | Greenwich | ||
| My Old Ass | $171,743 | 7 | $24,535 | $171,743 | 1 | Amazon MGM S… | ||
| Dìdi (弟弟) | $101,000 | -35% | 87 | -26 | $1,161 | $4,729,000 | 8 | Focus Features |
| 1992 | $76,000 | -83% | 159 | -716 | $478 | $2,863,547 | 3 | Lionsgate |
| Faith of Angels | $65,016 | 30 | $2,167 | $65,016 | 1 | Purdie Distr… | ||
| Strange Darling | $59,306 | -51% | 70 | -60 | $847 | $3,016,253 | 4 | Magenta Ligh… |
| Sing Sing | $46,116 | -53% | 55 | -37 | $838 | $2,657,476 | 10 | A24 |
| Longlegs | $25,000 | -15% | 35 | -20 | $714 | $74,041,049 | 10 | Neon |
| Tokyo Cowboy | $12,525 | -61% | 25 | 23 | $501 | $90,089 | 3 | Purdie Distr… |
| Seeking Mavis Beacon | $12,000 | -6% | 30 | 26 | $400 | $38,033 | 3 | Neon |
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