--As expected, Spiral (from the Book of Saw) debuted in first place. However, it did come in below expectations with $8.7 million (moderate $3,103 per-venue average). That's the biggest debut for a horror flick since The Invisible Man right before the pandemic hit. And it is in line with Wrath of Man from last week. But, for a franchise like Saw, it's around half of what previous entries opened with stateside.
--Wrath of Man was off 55% in its sophomore frame to $3.7 million, for a decent $14.6 million pick-up in 10 days. However, the Jason Statham film is doing strong business overseas, where it has earned almost $45 million so far including $18 million in China.
--Third place went to Warner Bros.' next simultaneous HBOMax/theaters experiment Those Who Wish Me Dead. The Angelina Jolie film didn't light the box office on fire, earning just $2.8 million (muted $878 per-venue average). However, in addition to the streaming component, the film didn't have much of a marketing effort, as the Taylor Sheridan-directed effort didn't have much fanfare going in.
--Demon Slayer: Mugen Train held better this weekend, off 42% to $1.8 million, for a $41.9 million pick-up in four domestic weekends of release. Of course, it's been a monster overseas, where it's headed for $450 million or more.
--Raya and the Last Dragon continued to show some pretty strong legs, as it was off just 11% to $1.7 million. Disney's latest animated flick has pulled in $46.1 million in 11 weeks as it hopes to reach The Croods: A New Age's $58 million vicinity. It's also earned over $100 million worldwide.
--Opening in 1,312 locations, Roadside Attractions debuted faith-based romance drama Finding You to the tune of $954,000 ($727 per-venue average) in eighth place. While not great, it is in line with the opening of Here Today from last week and ahead of The Girl Who Believes in Miracles. (I saw the film yesterday and will have the review up next Monday!)
--Horror flick Profile opened in ninth place with $670,000 (weak $329 per-venue average from over 2,000 locations). The indie release got overshadowed big-time from Spiral.
Meanwhile, here's what's going on in the rest of the Top 10:
-Godzilla VS. Kong was off 27% in its seventh frame to $1.5 million, for a $95 million gross in 49 days.
-Mortal Kombat was down 45% in its fourth frame to $1.3 million, for a $39.9 million gross in 24 days.
-Here Today was down 49% in its second frame to $530,000, for a $1.2 million gross in 10 days.
