“Smile 2” opens at the top, and “We Live in Time” reaches the top five

“Smile 2” was a big box office hit, with the Paramount horror film pulling in $9.4 million from 3,619 domestic locations throughout Friday and preview screenings. That's up from the $8.2 million opening day earned by the first Smile movie in 2022, and is a successful start for this sequel, which carries a production budget of $28 million.

As the Halloween season continues, “Smile 2” is well positioned to turn a profit as it plays in the coming weeks. The question remains about the extent to which it can emulate the staying power of its predecessor. The first “Smile” was initially scheduled for an online release, but was converted to a full theatrical release after strong test screenings. With the help of some viral marketing, this inexpensive thriller had a $22 million opening weekend — an impressive start already — then fell just 18% in its second weekend on its way to a $105 million domestic finish and a stellar multiple of 4.68.

Writer-director Parker Finn's feel-good story remains one of the feel-good theatrical success stories of the past few years, especially in the horror genre. Paramount announced a sequel to the film in the following months, and now, two years later, it is once again smiling at the top of the box office. While the 4.68 multiplier would be difficult to replicate, “Smile 2” has a solid enough response to support sustained play. The film was a hit with critics, with reviews highlighting Naomi Scott's lead performance and the story's expansion into the high-pressure world of pop stardom. Early audiences earned a “B” grade from research firm CinemaScore — a strong grade for a horror film, which tends to get lower grades than other genres, and also higher than the “B-” the first “Smile” film received.

Expanding this weekend to 955 theaters after a limited opening in New York and Los Angeles, A24's tearjerker “We Live in Time,” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, is looking to reach the top five of the domestic charts with a nearly 1.8 rating. Million dollars on Friday. . The John Crowley-directed film did well at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere and continued to collect positive reviews in the weeks that followed.

Universal's “The Wild Robot” continues to rock, holding on to No. 2 in its fourth weekend of release. The DreamWorks Animation feature is expected to surpass the $100 million domestic mark as of Sunday, making it the 16th release of the year to achieve the milestone.

Meanwhile, last weekend's box office champ “Terrifier 3” fell to third place in its second outing, though a fairly steep drop is to be expected for a franchise film that was packed with fans on its opening weekend. The Cineverse horror sequel added an estimated $2.9 million on Friday and is looking to push its domestic total to $30 million on Saturday. It's been a triumphant march for the unrated and very bloody indie feature.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” continues to maintain its place in the top five, even on its seventh weekend of release. After making $1.4 million on Friday, Tim Burton's comedy sequel is on the verge of passing “Dune: Part Two” ($282 million) to become the fourth-highest-grossing domestic release of 2024, behind “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool” only. Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4.” It’s a land of contrasts for Warner Bros., which also has “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which suffered a massive 81% drop in its second film and now, in its third weekend of release , unofficially dropped out of the top five domestically.

In limited release, Neon debuts Sean Baker's spiraling festival favorite “Anora” with a six-gallery release in New York and Los Angeles. Competitors estimate the Palme d'Or winner took home $310,000 on Friday, the start of what the independent distributor hopes will be a long stretch during awards season.