Weekend Box Office: Joker shimmies back to the top while Terminator: Dark Fate debuts overseas
Well, that was quick: After only a week of slumming it in the No. 2 spot, Warner Bros.’ Joker slid right back to the top with a modest $18.9 million domestic gain over the relatively quiet weekend, bringing the total stateside gross to nearly $277.6 million. It is now the top-grossing R-rated film ever, an honor that previously belonged to Deadpool 2. (Ryan Reynolds was sure to extend his warmest congratulations.) Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil’s domestic reign might have been short-lived (though she put up a fight, bringing in $18.5 million), but the sophomore effort appears to be doing much better internationally, besting its clownish rival’s $47.8 million offshore weekend gross with its own $64.3 million.
The rest of the top five is occupied by an appropriately on-theme slate of films fit for any Halloween crowd. Third-place belonged to The Addams Family, thanks to an additional $11.7 million. Following in fourth is Sony Pictures’ long-gestating sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, bringing in $11.6 million domestically and raising the two-week total to $47 million. In fifth-place, STX Entertainment’s newest horror entry Countdown, a tale about an app that lets users know exactly when they’re going to die, topped this past weekend’s premieres with $9 million. Small potatoes as that may sound, with a humble $6.5 million budget, it’s already netting a profit from those who have never been sufficiently spooked by a fitness tracking app before. Screen Gem’s Black & Blue, which our own Ignatiy Vishnevetsky deemed “generic” in his review, followed Countdown with an $8.3 million debut.
Terminator: Dark Fate debuted on a number of overseas screens, drumming up a $12.8 million—a less-than-stellar start for such a legacy franchise. Per Deadline, the sequel is targeting a $40 million domestic debut, though those projections are from earlier in the month. Its competition this Friday includes the Cynthia Erivo-starring biopic Harriet and some animated counterprogramming by way of Arctic Dogs, starring the voice of total sweetheart Jeremy Renner. While upsets can certainly happen, we’re sure Sarah Connor and friends will fare just fine.
For more in-depth box office analysis, check out Box Office Mojo.