Box Office: Last News

“Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday.That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales.With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal.While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” has performed well overseas.

according to The Numbers.The musical fantasy, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as witches Galinda and Elphaba, is based on the Broadway musical “Wicked,” which was loosely adapted from the novel “Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.” It purports to tell the “real” story of what happened in Oz before Dorothy arrived.The Post said the film, which is part one of a two-part series, “doesn’t defy gravity without second half,” which is slated to be released next November. The highly-anticipated movie, which had a production budget of $150 million, is slated to enjoy a staggering $117 million-dollar weekend, which could make it the third biggest opening of the year so far.

Argylle,” starring Henry Cavill and Bryce Dallas Howard.That tedious misfire cost $200 million before marketing expenses, and grossed just $96 million.Poor Tim Cook. A few months later, the iPhone company’s $100 million “Fly Me to the Moon” with Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson tanked too. Apple didn’t even bother putting the George Clooney-and-Brad Pitt-led “Wolfs” in theaters this summer.Another tectonic shift continued apace: The superhero genre, once invincible, was embarrassingly ripped down to earth by discerning audiences.The “Joker” sequel, “Folie à Deux,” was one of the most shocking releases of the year.

according to The Numbers.Johnson, who plays the head of North Pole security trying to locate a kidnapped Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, is hoping the movie, which was at first only intended for streaming, will be released in Imax theaters.“With ‘Red One,’ our intention was to make a movie that you can enjoy on the biggest screen possible,” Johnson told Imax. “Legitimately, the biggest screens possible are Imax.”Some failed to find any holiday magic in the flick, which was released in 4,032 theaters.“For the most wonderful time of the year comes the worst movie of the year,” The Post said in its review of the film, which cost a staggering $250 million to make and is projected to have a measly $30 million-dollar opening.

rule the box office for three straight weeks.For the third weekend in a row, “Venom: The Last Dance” was the No. 1 movie at the box office, collecting $16.2 million in ticket sales in US and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.It fended off a pair of new challengers in the Hugh Grant horror thriller “Heretic” and the feel-good holiday movie “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”With the election on Tuesday, the major studios opted not to put any new releases into theaters.

“Venom: The Last Dance” enjoyed another weekend at the top of the box office. The Sony release starring Tom Hardy added $26.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.It was a relatively quiet weekend for North American movie theaters leading up to the presidential election.

Venom: The Last Dance” earned another $6.6 million in ticket sales during its second week in theaters, and holds steady at No. 1, according to The Numbers.The film stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a journalist forced to share his body with a demonic-looking alien symbiote that feasts on human brains.

“Venom: The Last Dance” showed less bite than expected at the box office, collecting $51 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, significantly down from the alien symbiote franchise’s previous entries.Projections for the third “Venom” film from Sony Pictures had been closer to $65 million. More concerning, though, was the drop off from the first two “Venom” films.The 2018 original debuted with $80.2 million, while the 2021 follow-up, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” opened with $90 million even as theaters were still in recovery mode during the pandemic.“The Last Dance,” starring Tom Hardy as a journalist who shares his body with an alien entity also voiced by Hardy, could still turn a profit for Sony.Its production budget, not accounting for promotion and marketing, was about $120 million — significantly less than most comic-book films.But “The Last Dance” is also performing better overseas.

according to The Numbers.The threequel’s first-day take likely means it will fall short of the $70 million insiders had projected it would generate during its opening weekend.The film series, about a symbiotic alien who invades the body of Hardy’s San Francisco newspaper columnist character, and consumes human brains to stay alive. The original “Venom” film in 2018 sold $32 million ticket on its first day, while 2021’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” generated $37 million in opening day sales.“Smile 2,” the psychological thriller starring Jack Nicholson’s son, Ray, dropped a notch to No.

The Numbers.The psychological supernatural horror flick, the sequel to 2022’s “Smile,” is projected to earn $23 million on its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.It stars Jack Nicholson’s son Ray, whom The Post said “is a dead ringer for his 87-year-old Hollywood royalty father in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece ‘The Shining.'”Ray stars as the deceased boyfriend of a pop singer, played by Naomi Scott, who has hallucinations of him smiling at her. In second place was “Terrifier 3,” with just over $3 million in revenue.The slasher film, which was in the number one spot last Friday, its theatrical debut, could earn up to $8 million this weekend, as per Deadline.

according to The Numbers.The third installment in the Terrifier franchise, which Variety called “the sickest entry yet,” could make up to $17 million on its opening weekend.Audiences are even being physically affected by the horror film.The Post reported that the movie’s distributor wrote on X on Oct. 3 that one theater “reported 11 people walking out and 1 person vomiting” during a pre-screening.“The Wild Robot” held firm in second on its third Friday in theaters, with a $3.82 million take.Last weekend, the sci-fi adventure surpassed the $100 million mark in worldwide earnings, and its filmmaker Chris Sanders already confirmed there’s a sequel in the works, as per Deadline.“Joker: Folie á Deux,” which debuted in the No.

“Terrifier 3,” a gory, low-budget slasher from the small distributor Cineverse, topped the weekend box office with $18.3 million, according to estimates Sunday.The film, a sequel to 2022’s “Terrifier 2” ($15 million worldwide in ticket sales), brings back the murderous Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) and lets him loose, under the guise of Santa, at a Christmas party.That “Terrifier 3” could notably overperform expectations and leapfrog both major studios and awards hopefuls was only possible due to the disaster of “Joker: Folie à Deux.”After Todd Phillips’ “Joker” sequel, starring Phoenix and Lady Gaga, got off to a much-diminished start last weekend (and a “D” CinemaScore from audiences), the Warner Bros. release fell a staggering 81% in its second weekend, bringing in just $7.1 million.For a superhero film, such a drop has little precedent.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is the No. 1 movie at the box office, but it might not be destined for a happy ending.In a turn of events that only Arthur Fleck would find funny, the follow-up to Todd Phillips’ 2019 origin story about the Batman villain opened in theaters nationwide this weekend to a muted $40 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, less than half that of its predecessor.The collapse was swift and has many in the industry wondering: How did the highly anticipated sequel to an Oscar-winning, billion-dollar film with the same creative team go wrong?Just three weeks ago, tracking services pegged the movie for a $70 million debut, which would still have been down a fair amount from “Joker’s” record-breaking $96.2 million launch in Oct.

according to The Numbers.The Todd-Phillips-directed psychological thriller, which The Post called “a pointless sequel,” is a follow-up to 2019’s “Joker,” which earned Joaquin Phoenix, who reprises his titular role, an Oscar. It is also a musical — and The Post said Phoenix and his co-star Lady Gaga, who plays his love interest, Harley Quinn, “sing for no reason.”The supervillain flick, which cost $200 million to make, is projected to take in at most $47 million on its opening weekend in 4,102 theaters, according to Deadline.That figure is around half of what the original film made on its opening weekend.

self-financed epic “Megalopolis” flopped with moviegoers, while the acclaimed DreamWorks Animation family film “The Wild Robot” soared to No. 1 at the weekend box office.“The Wild Robot,” Chris Sanders’ adaptation of Peter Brown’s bestseller, outperformed expectations to launch with $35 million in ticket sales in U.S.

The Post called the “best family film of the year” — landed at the top of the box office, raking in $11.32 million, according to The Numbers.The DreamWorks production, which is based on the book series of the same name, features the voices of Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Catherine O’Hara and Mark Hamill.It already made history as the third best opening for an animated movie in September, according to Deadline. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” remained in second place this Friday, its fourth in theaters, with sales of $4.2 million.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”The Tim Burton legacy sequel to his 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend with $26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.It edged out the animated new release “Transformers: One,” which brought in $25 million.The Optimus Prime origin story from Paramount Pictures features the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson.“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” a Warner Bros. release with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning as stars, has earned more than $226 million domestically in its three weeks after a monster opening of $110 million — the third best of the year — and a second weekend of $51.6 million.Third place went to the James McAvoy horror “Speak No Evil,” which came in at $5.9 million in its second week for a total of $21.5 million.On the whole, the box office was in a quiet phase that is expected to break when “Joker: Folie à Deux” dances its way onto the big screen on Oct.

according to The Numbers.The long-awaited sequel, which has star Michael Keaton repeating his role along with several other members of the original cast, has pulled in $150.8 million since first hitting theaters. The dark fantasy comedy-horror made history as the second-biggest September opening of all time, behind 2017’s “It,” which pulled in $123 million in day one receipts.

After 36 years of waiting, the juice is finally loose again in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” this time racking up $110 million in its premiere weekend.The long-awaited Tim Burton sequel is the third-best opening weekend of the year, only behind box office triumphs “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”Michael Keaton returns as the titular spirit and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder also reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, with newcomer Jenna Ortega playing the latter’s daughter, Astrid. Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast.The Warner Bros.

The Post called “pointless” and “belabored,” earned $41.5 million on Friday, its first day in theaters, according to The Numbers.The Tim Burton film, which serves as a sequel to the 1988 cult classic “Beetlejuice,” is expected to take in at least $97 million domestically on its opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. If that’s the case, the film will enjoy the second-biggest September opening of all time, trailing only behind 2017’s supernatural horror “It.”Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprised their roles in the sequel — which had a staggering reported production budget of $100 million — and Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe joined the cast.“Deadpool & Wolverine,” which was in the No.

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” one of the defining movies of the summer, ruled the box office on a weekend with quiet openings and low theater attendance as the summer movie season came to an anticlimactic close.For the second weekend in a row, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Marvel’s smash hit that has shattered records and become the best-selling R-rated movie of all time, topped the charts, with other holdovers from the summer following behind.After six weeks in theaters, the film made $15.2 million domestically Friday through Sunday, and it’s expected to cross the domestic $600 million mark following Monday’s Labor Day holiday.The Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman superhero flick will be one of only 16 titles to hit that milestone.“Reagan,” a biopic starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th US president, was the only new release competitive with holdover films that opened earlier this summer.Exceeding projections, the first full-length film about President Ronald Reagan earned $7.4 million over the three-day weekend, with an estimated cumulative total of $9.2 million including projections for Monday.Audiences have reacted to the movie positively, giving it an A CinemaScore and a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.Critics have been less receptive, giving it a 19% rating and deeming it rotten on the popular ratings site. It ranked No.