Box office: Smile 2 laughs at the competition, Terrifier 3 still bloody

American cinemas saved by horror? While the expected blockbusters are not the expected successes and US cinema has lost a third of its attendance in a decade, the industry can thank horror films for convincing the public.

Horror reigns supreme at the box office

After the phenomenon Terrify 3 last week, Smile 2 takes the crown this weekend. With 23 million dollars collected for its first weekend, the sequel is enjoying a similar start to the original film (22.6 million) in 2022. A decent start, helped by relatively positive reviews.

Paramount hopes to repeat the unexpected success of the first opus, which totaled $105 million in revenue in the United States and $217 million worldwide, for an overall modest budget (17 million). The question is whether Smile 2 will be able to reach these heights without the surprise effect of the first film and with a Venom 3 which risks devouring everything in its path. Next week's retention will be decisive.

The resounding failure of Joker: madness for two and the absence of big releases benefits September films, particularly in Wild robot which holds on firmly to its second place with $10.1 million for its fourth weekend.

As expected, the Dreamworks animated film shows great endurance and exceeds the symbolic bar of 100 million greenbacks on American soil, even preparing to exceed that of 200 million worldwide. As a reminder, its relatively modest budget was 78 million and a sequel has already been announced by the studio.

Terrify 3last week's horror sensation, is holding up extremely well in its second week with $9.3 million raked in and a drop of only 50.8% in its audience. The sequel gore on the micro-budget (2 million) confirms its status as a surprise success of 2024 with a worldwide cumulative total of 41.5 million to date.

In the rest of the box office, “Oscar” films begin their campaign in major North American cities. Dramatic romance Love in the present (We Live in Time in original version), carried by the duo Andrew Garfield/Florence Pugh, jumped to fifth place.

The Palme d’Or Anora got off to a flying start, generating $540,000 in just six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, achieving the best per-screen ratio of 2024 ($90,000). The film is one of the favorites for the upcoming Oscars.

US box office October 18-20, 2024 (estimates)