Some analysts believed it would be a close race, but ultimately, families with tweens and teens powered Venom to a second-straight week at #1. The antihero flick held a bit better than anticipated considering the mixed word-of-mouth. Tom Hardy was off 56% to $35.7 million. In 10 days, the famous Spider-Man villain has devoured a strong $142.8 million. Overseas, the film continues to clean up as well, with already $375 million picked up worldwide with plenty more to go. Next weekend, the film might take a hit from the highly-anticipated Halloween reboot. But the PG-13 rating will likely keep things afloat for the next few weeks.It couldn't take first place away from Venom, but A Star is Born is living up to its' word-of-mouth. The remake of the Barbara Streisand classic was off just 35% to $28 million. Through its' 10th day, the musical drama has earned a terrific $94.2 million, and has lots of runway to go. The film is also playing solidly overseas considering its genre, with over $40 million so far. Look for the musical flick to continue playing well through November.
That leads us to Neil Armstrong biopic First Man. The historical drama failed to meet expectations in its debut, earning $16.5 million in third place ($4,533 per-venue average). Universal and most analysts saw the fairly quiet buzz and were forecasting a debut in the $18-20 million range, with room for upside (I was thinking this might would tap into some of the same audience as Gravity and The Martian, but I was wrong). There are a couple of factors here that I believe may have held this film back. First, a controversy regarding the "American flag planting" (which turned out to be overblown) being omitted might have turned off some conservative viewers. Second, the one-two punch of Venom and A Star is Born turned out to be even stronger than most anticipated, which didn't leave many adults left for this one. That being said, with the film in the Oscar conversation, First Man's opening is comparable to Bridge of Spies ($15 million debut, $75 million finish), and Argo ($19 million debut, $136 million finish). The film did earn a pretty good "B+" CinemaScore, which doesn't sound like electrifying word-of-mouth to keep this one moving. The budget was $59 million.
It was pretty much a tie for third this weekend (and the order could switch when actuals come in tomorrow), as Sony found themselves with a decent start for their sequel Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. The PG spookfest managed $16.2 million in its debut ($4,608 per-venue average). That's off 31% from the first Goosebumps' $23.6 million debut back in 2015, and was also down from earlier this season's House with a Clock in its' Walls ($26.6 million). But, considering the budget was only $35 million, it's definitely no flop. Sony's forecast was around $14-15 million, while some analysts thought it could come close to $20 million. Audiences gave it a decent "B" CinemaScore. With two more weekends before Halloween (and no real PG competition opening in the meantime), look for the sequel to continue to scare up decent business.Speaking of PG competition, Smallfoot was relatively unharmed by Goosebumps. The animated flick was off a light 35% in its third weekend to $9.3 million. Warner Animation has earned $57.6 million in 17 days, and there's no animated competition until Illumination's The Grinch opens on November 9. Also holding well in its third weekend was Kevin Hart's Night School. After a heavy decline last weekend, the PG-13 comedy saved face, off 36% to $8 million. Hart and Tiffany Haddish have pulled in a solid $59.8 million in 17 days, on its way to around $80 million stateside.
Meanwhile, a lot of options for adult audiences made Bad Times at the El Royale get lost. The Fox dramedy earned just $7.2 million in seventh place in its debut (weak $2,573 per-venue average). That was below the $9-11 million forecasted by analysts. For Disney-bound distributor Fox, this is their third-straight misfire after The Darkest Minds and the Predator reboot. Personally, a different release date with less competition for its target audience might would have been helpful. The budget was $32 million, while audiences gave it a mixed "B-" CinemaScore.
In the face of added competition from Goosebumps, The House with a Clock in its Walls was down 46% to $4 million in its fourth weekend. The book adaptation has earned a solid $62.3 million in 24 days and will likely finish just shy of $75 million here in America. Meanwhile, after a solid start in a few theaters last weekend, crime drama The Hate U Give expanded to 248 locations. It picked up steam, earning $1.8 million in ninth place (in line with my predictions and a solid $7,117 per-venue average ranked third for the weekend). The film will expand to over 2,300 locations next week, where it should earn even bigger numbers.
Rounding out the Top 10 was A Simple Favor, which is understandably dropping hard due to many options for adults. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively fell 60% to $1.4 million, for a solid $52 million in one month of release.
And that's about it. Next weekend, October gets one more heavy-hitter as the remake of Halloween prepares for a huge debut. It's sure to be another exciting weekend, check out predictions on Wednesday. :)
