Somewhere out there, a Disney executive is kicking themselves for not making Hocus Pocus 2 a theatrical release. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is proving there is huge money to be found in legacy sequels to Halloween favorites, bringing in a bonkers $51 million in its second week. Yes, yes, word of mouth among fans is somewhat mixed here, but at the end of the day, people go to this movie to see Michael Keaton be funny, and in that respect, it’s delivering what audiences want. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice currently has $188 million in the bank. By this time next week, it will have surpassed the inflation lifetime gross of the original. Not bad. Now let Joe Dante make Gremlins 3 already!
In second place, we have the heavily promoted Speak No Evil. This is a remake of a well-received but very dark Danish thriller, and audiences and critics are on board for it, even if the $11 million it made is still less than some hoped for. Star James McAvoy claimed he based his performance off of “the toxic masculinity of Andrew Tate,” and I am begging people to stop talking like this when giving interviews. You’re not fooling anyone, and it just comes across as you desperately trying to make headlines for your film in the most desperate way.
Anyway, speaking of toxic masculinity, Matt Walsh has a new movie in theaters and…ugh. Do I really have to talk about this one? I mean, Matt Walsh is a professional grifter. I doubt he even means half of the bullshit that comes out of his mouth. We’re talking about a man who made “anti-woke Bluey” into a thing! Anyway, Am I Racist? somehow made it into the top five. Yay for the popcorn sales, I guess.
The news is far worse for The Killer’s Game, which is unfortunately yet another flop for Lionsgate. Darn shame since this one looked pretty fun, but there simply wasn’t enough bite to make this into a hit. Next up for Lionsgate is Coppola’s ambitious Megalopolis, which is already tracking for a terrible opening. Oof.
Rounding out the top ten, we have God’s Not Dead 5, and no, you are not misreading that. There have seriously been five movies in this “franchise,” and at this point, God might be wishing that he was dead in order to stop them from being made. Look for God’s Not Dead 6: Righteous Boogaloo to be announced any day now.
Anyway, the top ten, via Deadline
- Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (WB) 4,575 theaters, Fri $14.4M Sat $22.5M Sun $14.6M 3-day $51.6M (-54%) Total $188M/Wk 2
- Speak No Evil (Uni) 3,375 theaters Fri $4.9M Sat $4M Sun $2.6M , 3-day $11.5M/Wk 1
- Deadpool & Wolverine (Dis) 3,075 theaters, Fri $1.4M (-21%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.5M 3-day $5.2M (-26%) Total $621.5M/Wk 8
- Am I Racist? (SDG) 1,517 theaters, Fri $1.96M Sat $1.55M Sun $1.24M 3-day $4.75M/Wk 1
- Reagan (Showbiz) 2,450 (-320) theaters, Fri $905M (-40%) Sat $1.1M Sun $882K 3-day $2.96M (-39%), Total $23.3M/Wk 3
- The Killer’s Game (LG) 2,623 theaters, Fri $1.06M Sat $945K Sun $590K 3-day $2.6M, Wk 1
- Alien: Romulus (20th/Dis) 1,950 (-610) theaters, Fri $682K (-33%) Sat $995K Sun $723K 3-day $2.4M (-38%) Total $101.2M/Wk 5
- It Ends With Us (Sony) 2,209 (-641) theaters, Fri $635K (-43%) Sat $870K Sun $520K 3-day $2.02M (-45%), Total $144.8M, Wk 6
- The Forge (Sony) 1,614 (-96) theaters, Fri $530K Sat $855K Sun $625K 3-day $2.01M(-33%), Total $24.1M/Wk 4
- God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust (Fath) 1,392 theaters, Thu $360K Fri $460K Sat $575K Sun $431K, 3-day $1.466M, Total $1.82M/Wk 1