Horror sequel ‘Black Phone 2’ dials up a No. 1 opening

The horror sequel Black Phone topped the North American box office charts this weekend with million in ticket sales according to studio estimates Sunday Not only did it surpass the original s million debut it s a much-needed win for Blumhouse after a string of disappointments this year like M GAN Though Black Phone opened in line with expectations moviegoing in October continues to be slow down about from last year according to Comscore The overall box office is still up about compared with last year but a big blockbuster hit that could spark more momentum might not arrive until late November or December Universal Pictures issued Black Phone in theaters in North America on a wave of good reviews Coming four years after the original the sequel sees the return of filmmaker Scott Derrickson as well as stars Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames Opening weekend audiences were between the ages of and according to exit polls and the biggest demographic was Hispanics making up of ticket buyers while Caucasians accounted for With an additional million from international territories Black Phone had a million worldwide launch against a revealed million production budget The first Black Phone was a bit of a sleeper hit for Universal and Blumhouse in as cinemas were beginning to come back to life after COVID shutdowns By the end of its run it had earned more than million worldwide against an million budget Blumhouse has had a rocky with a handful of duds including Wolf Man and The Woman in the Yard But the once impenetrable horror hitmaker could be on the upswing again with a Five Nights at Freddy s sequel coming in December The first movie earned nearly million worldwide Black Phone was also the only film to really break through this weekend despite a slew of options playing in wide release including the R-rated Seth Rogen Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves comedy Good Fortune which opened in locations to million and the expansion of the Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield drama After the Hunt which made million from theaters Tron Ares fell about to million in its second weekend in theaters which was enough to snag second place on the charts Globally it has now earned million Good Fortune which opened in third place had mostly positive reviews on its side but Ansari s comedy with a side of social commentary did not drum up a lot of enthusiasm in its first weekend With a B CinemaScore though it likely has a better chance in the coming weeks than the campus drama After the Hunt which got a very poor C- count Next weekend audiences will get another batch of awards-hopefuls including Yorgos Lanthimos s latest Emma Stone collaboration Bugonia and the Bruce Springsteen biopic Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere starring The Bear s Jeremy Allen White Source