In a surprising twist in the Halloween box office battle, Paramount and Constantin Films’ romance-drama Regretting You has emerged as a frontrunner, claiming the top spot with an estimated $8.1 million from 3,245 theaters during its second weekend. This film, based on the popular novel by Colleen Hoover, follows the success of another Hoover adaptation, It Ends With Us, and has garnered significant attention in the cinematic landscape.
However, the competition was fierce as Universal Pictures also reported strong numbers for Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2, which is projected to finish with approximately $8 million from 3,425 theaters. Rival studios indicate that the horror sequel, now in its third weekend, might surpass Regretting You. Interestingly, last weekend saw a reversal in fortunes, with Regretting You outperforming Black Phone 2 when final figures were tallied. The upcoming Monday box office report will clarify the exact rankings for the October 31-November 2 weekend, leaving some to wonder if Paramount's estimates were overly optimistic.
This year’s Halloween weekend proved to be a challenging period for the film industry, with overall ticket sales totaling just $49.8 million—the lowest of the year. According to Comscore, this is also the lowest-grossing Halloween weekend in 31 years, excluding the pandemic-impacted year of 2020. The last time revenue was this low was in 1993, when combined ticket sales reached $49.2 million, a figure not adjusted for inflation.
“While this was a truly scary weekend for the industry, a confluence of factors created an imperfect marketplace storm,” said Paul Dergarabedian at Comscore. He noted that Halloween festivities, coupled with the excitement surrounding the World Series, diverted audiences from the theaters. Despite the gloomy figures, Dergarabedian praised studios and cinemas for their efforts to mitigate the impact of this downturn.
The significant drop in attendance this Halloween weekend can be attributed to the absence of a major commercial title, similar to previous years. This year, theaters relied on a mix of holdovers and rereleases, such as Back to the Future, alongside the expansion of Focus Features’ buzzworthy film Bugonia.
As Halloween fell on a Friday, Regretting You experienced a notable dip in ticket sales on Friday, as its primary audience—young females—were likely engaged in Halloween festivities. However, sales rebounded sharply on Saturday, increasing by 200 percent. To date, Regretting You has earned a total of $27.5 million domestically and an additional $8.2 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $50.8 million.
Meanwhile, Black Phone 2 continues to thrive, surpassing the $104 million mark over the weekend. It finished Sunday with a domestic earnings total of $61.5 million and an international tally of $43.3 million, reflecting a weekend haul of $7.3 million.
In contrast, the acclaimed Japanese animated film Chainsaw Man – the Movie: Reze Arc experienced a significant drop in its second weekend, declining by 67 percent to earn $6 million and a domestic total of $30.8 million, while achieving a remarkable global total of $139 million.
Focus Features' Bugonia secured the No. 4 spot with $4.8 million after expanding into 2,043 theaters, marking the widest release for a film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, featuring stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. Disney brought nostalgia to audiences with the 40th Anniversary rerelease of Back to the Future, which earned $4.7 million from 2,290 theaters, contributing to an impressive cumulative total of $221.7 million.
Additionally, Disney’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere landed at No. 6 with $3.8 million, showing a steep decline of 57 percent from the previous weekend, leading to a domestic total of $16.3 million and a global tally of $30.6 million.
In a nostalgic twist, Fathom and Lionsgate collaborated to bring back the entire Twilight series to theaters, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Stephenie Meyer’s first novel. This limited-time event, held from October 29 to November 2, attracted audiences and generated an estimated $3.5 million in ticket sales, showcasing the continuing appeal of classic film franchises.
As the box office landscape continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how films like Regretting You and others will fare in the coming weeks, particularly as studios navigate the challenges presented by seasonal festivities and competitive sporting events.
