1. Jigsaw- $16.25M
It used to be that Saw dominated the Halloween season, then Paranormal Activity came and ran it out of town. We haven't had a Saw film in seven years, and apparently fans were a little bit mixed on whether they wanted to see the deadly traps return. Jigsaw opened with $16.25M, which is the second-lowest in the franchise's history. Good news for Lionsgate is they also have the #2 film with Tyler Perry's A Madea Halloween. So basically they've got trick or treat season on lock, even if the numbers aren't going to scare anybody. Things might have been better if Stranger Things 2 didn't come out at the same time, and if Happy Death Day and It weren't still hanging around, but what can you do? And like all of the previous movies, this one didn't cost much. Only $10M went into the production and it should at least live a long life on home release.
2. Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween- $10M/$35.5M
With so many horror themed movies around it was unlike Boo 2 would scare up the same numbers as the first movie, but this is still a decent total for the latest Tyler Perry flick. Nothing like the highs he used to achieve back when his name commanded bigger audiences, but he keeps making a profit and that's all that matters.
3. Geostorm- $5.6M/$23.5M
There's bad news, good news, then more bad news for Geostorm, the disaster flick starring Gerard Butler as a guy battling weather satellites or something. Bad news, the film cratered by dropping 58% in its second weekend domestically, giving it only $23.5M. Good news, it kicked butt overseas, as expected, and now has $136M worldwide, besting Jackie Chan's The Foreigner this week. But it doesn't matter much because estimates are Warner Bros. would need to recoup more than $300M just to break even, and that's not happening.
4. Happy Death Day- $5M/$48.3M
No real update here except to say that I finally saw this and damn, that was a lot of fun. Glad to see it's doing well. Won't be glad to see a sequel, though.
5. Blade Runner 2049- $3.9M/$81.3M
6. Thank You For Your Service (review)- $3.7M
Despite boasting the talents of American Sniper writer Jason Hall in his directorial debut, the military drama Thank You For Your Service failed to catch on. The Miles Teller-led film opened with just $3.7M, and honestly this was always going to be a tough sell. We always hear that more adult dramas are what audiences want, but how often does that actually prove to be true? And there is zero appetite out there for another movie about the devastating impact war has on our soldiers when they return home. The reviews have been strong, including my own, so maybe it'll hang around through the fall and pick up momentum if it gets mentioned in the awards discussion.
7. Only the Brave- $3.4M/$11.9M
The second serviceman story to feature a Miles Teller lead performance, Only the Brave, fell only 42% for $3.4M and $11.9M overall. That's a strong hold and it would have meant more if last week had been better, but this is another one which should hang around for a while, lifted by generally good reviews.
8. The Foreigner- $3.2M/$28.8M
9. Suburbicon (review)- $2.8M
As I said in my review of Suburbicon, there is generally a good reason why the Coens let others direct some of their scripts. The dark comedy directed by George Clooney and starring Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, and Oscar Isaac in a 1950s criminal caper, opened with a pathetic $2.8M. That's the lowest wide release debut in Paramount's history. Ouch. The reviews weren't good, either, so there's practically no chance of it getting an awards season bump.
10. It- $2.4M/$323.7M
A remarkable 28% hold for It in the 10th week of release. That number may improve in the next few days as it expands into more theaters for Halloween. And if that wasn't enough, its worldwide haul now sits at a scary $666M. Ooooooh, spooky.
