Box Office: Horror Rules As ‘Smile’ And ‘Terrifier 2’ Thrive Against ‘Halloween’

In holdover news for the weekend, Paramount's PARA - 2% Smile may have lost the battle against the mighty Michael Myers, but it's still on track to win the war. The buzzy $17 million, R-rated horror original earned $12.4 million domestic and $16.3 million overseas, bringing it to $71.2 million domestic and $138.6 million worldwide. Halloween Kills will pass Scream this week to become the highest grossing movie of all time. It will eventually reach $100 million domestic and $170 million global, both of which will make it the biggest live-action original of the 21st century. There is a hot streak going on at Paramount.

The horror film Barbarian earned over $1 million in the sixth weekend for a $38.96 million domestic and $40.6 million worldwide total. It will pass 40 million dollars next weekend, making it an R-rated, star-free grindhouse original. In 700 theaters, the film earned $850,000. That is a great amount of money for a grassroots release. It will do art. It will do. The Invitation has earned over $30 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. Four new talents are available for the plucking for any interested studio.

Universal's Ticket to Paradise earned another $7.8 million this weekend before it opens in the US. The George Clooney/Julia Roberts rom com has made over 70 million dollars internationally. That is close to The Lost City. The old-school romantic comedy is still alive and well. In the second weekend of the month, Columbia and Sony's delightful Lyle, Lyle Crocodile made $7.4 million. A mediocre $22.7 million domestic and $28.6 million global box office for the $50 million family-friendly comedy is what it is. It wasn't as big of a deal as Peter Rabbit, Paddington or the Big Red Dog.

The Woman King made $4.7 million for a total of $76.5 million. The $50 million action movie starring Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega should make at least $70 million in the US. This is the kind of film that Sony can make because of the lucrative first pay-TV window deal they signed with the streaming service. David O. Russell's Amsterdam earned just $2.89 million in the second weekend for an $11.97 million domestic and $18.6 million global total. Audiences no longer automatically show up for star-packed non-franchise films unless almost everything goes right.

Over the weekend, Warner Bros. Discovery's Don't Worry Darling earned over two million dollars. The film has made over 50 million dollars in the United States and over 70 million dollars internationally. The movie is not a blockbuster or a franchise starter, but it will make money. It will probably be more profitable than The Woman King. Universal's Bros made $900,000 in weekend three for a total of $10.9 million in 17 days. We will be able to look forward to the people discovering it at home and complaining on social media that nobody told them to see it in theaters because it will be on PCOD this Friday. It's a fun fact, we did.

For the 21st weekend in a row, Top Gun made $685,000. It will be its 21st weekend in a row in the top ten, the first time that has happened since 1997's Titanic. I think this will be the last such weekend, but we will see. It has sold more tickets in the US than Black Panther. The over/under inflation-adjusted totals of the two films may be too much unless they return to theaters.