Box Office Report: Horror Reigns Supreme Halloween Weekend
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
As cinemas continue to navigate the pandemic, Focus Features’ and Amblin’s “Come Play” secured a first place debut with just $3.15 million. The film played on 2,183 screens across North America, which shows that its middling debut is proof that audiences and theaters are still out of sync. This is on the heels of a record-breaking week of infections in the U.S. and the continued closure of cinemas in the largest markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. In North Dakota, most local theaters are opting for old favorites instead of new titles. In Fargo, only one Marcus Theatres location is currently operating due to low attendance.
On a lighter note, “Come Play” did beat industry expectations. Going into the weekend, most prognosticators expected the film to earn around $2 million.
Drive-in theaters continue to earn the most money compared to in-house cinemas. Mission Tiki Drive-In near Los Angeles and West End Sacramento 6 Drive-In were the highest-earning theaters of the weekend.
Internationally, Robert Zemeckis’ “The Witches”, which debuted last weekend on HBO Max in North America, performed well, collecting $4.8 million. The film is currently playing in 17 international markets.
As mentioned above, old favorites continue to perform well, like Disney’s “Hocus Pocus”, which added another $456,000 to its haul.
TOP TEN OF THE WEEKEND:
COME PLAY - $3.15 million
HONEST THIEF - $1.35 million
THE WAR WITH GRANDPA - $1.08 million
TENET - $885,000
THE EMPTY MAN - $561,000
HOCUS POCUS - $456,000
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - $386,000
MONSTERS, INC - $232,000
SPELL - $210,000
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL - $128,000
