Box Office Discussion: In the "Black"

 Black Adam dominates a quiet post-Halloween frame.

The weekend before the kickoff movie for one of the two most lucrative box office times of the year is usually devoid of major titles.  Last April, the weekend before the arrival of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw only one wide release, an already-forgotten Liam Neeson thriller called (ironically) Memory.  Last year, the weekend before Eternals launched the holiday lineup, theater owners had to get by with the likes of Antlers and Last Night in Soho.  Such was the case again this time around, as Hollywood basically skipped the weekend before the arrival of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, releasing only an anime title and an arty Oscar contender.

Leading the pack, however, was Black Adam, the latest hit superhero movie, this time from DC.  The thriller, with Dwayne Johnson in the title role, took in $18.3 million, for a total of $137.7million.  This looks to be heading to at least $170 million, and maybe even $180 million.

Theatrical spin-offs of popular anime shows have done quite well this year at the US box office.  Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero managed a $21 million opening in August, a better opening than The Woman King and Don't Worry Darling, and right below the opening of Smile.  Joining that club of success is One Piece Film: Red, which sees the franchise's wacky pirates interacting with a musical diva with a personal connection to the crew.  It opened at a solid $9.3 million.  One rather negative trait about these movies, however, is just front-loaded they really are.  The film lost half its business from Friday to Saturday, and if the trajectory of Super Hero and the year's other big anime hit, Jujitsu Kaisen 0, hold true, Red will unlikely be able to double its opening weekend.

Romcom Ticket to Paradise held up very well in its third weekend, taking in $8.6 million.  That brings its total to $46.8 million.  It looks like it could be heading as high as $70 million.

The aforementioned long-running horror hit Smile held up very well for being past Halloween, earning another $4 million for a total of $99.1 million.  It should become the 15th film of the year to hit that mark, just ahead of what will almost certainly be film 16.

Halloween opening Prey for the Devil had a decent-for-a-horror-movie second weekend hold, falling to $3.9 million.  Its ten-day gross stands at $13.7 million.

Jumping 22%, perhaps because families were no longer distracted by Halloween festivities, family comedy Lyle Lyle Crocodile brought in $3.4 million, bringing its total to $36.6 million.  It now looks like it will finish above $40 million, though likely not much more.

Jumping into the top 10 is the critically acclaimed comedy-drama The Banshees of Inisherin.  The film, which is expected to earn multiple Oscar nominations in January, stars Colin Farrell as a local man who tries to figure out why his longtime best friend, played by Brendan Gleeson, has suddenly cut him out of his life. It took in $2.1 million on its first semi-wide weekend, and has now earned $3.1 million during its run.

Another Oscar contender, Till, came in 8th, earning $1.9 million for a total of $6.6 million.  Rounding out the Top 10 are two leftover horror films.  Halloween Ends is doing exactly that, earning $1.4 million for a total of $63.5 million.  Indie horror smash Terrifier 2 made $1.1 million, for a total of $9.8 million.

Just outside the Top 10, another Oscar contending weekend expansion fell flat.  Armageddon Time could only manage $0.8 million and 12th, coming in behind the 8th weekend of The Woman King.  Its total stands at $0.9 million.

The holiday movie season kicks off this weekend with the arrival of November's biggest film by far, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which sees the African nation mourning the passing of King T'Challa while dealing with a new, ocean-based threat.  Nearly 5 years ago, in February 2018, the first Black Panther opened to $202 million.  Will this one match that opening?  It does seem likely to join fellow MCUers Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness as one of the three biggest openings of the pandemic era.  Just how big will it be?  We'll find out next week.