Theater counts: The Wild Robot becomes widest release in its fourth weekend

It is rare that a film becomes the widest release in the land entering its fourth weekend on the big screen, but that is right where The Wild Robot has found itself, only losing 25 locations this time around. Opening on September 27th, the movie was edged out by another robot feature, as Transformers One eclipsed the newcomer by eight cinemas in its second weekend at the box office. This weekend The Wild Robot holds the top spot, playing in over 200 more theaters than the second-widest release, as Smile 2 lands in 3,619 locations.

As the second feature in the Smile franchise, Smile 2 follows global pop sensation Skye Riley, who begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events as she is on the cusp of a world tour. Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control. The latest installment stars Naomi Scott as Skye, while Parker Finn was brought back to write and direct. Smile scored just over $217 million in worldwide receipts after opening in late September 2022.

Also opening in wide release this weekend is the Michael Keaton comedy, Goodrich. The movie follows a recently separated man who seeks out his adult pregnant daughter for assistance with raising his nine-year-old twins. Mila Kunis portrays Keaton’s daughter Grace. The film from Ketchup Entertainment is the studio’s first wide release to arrive in theaters this year, and its only wide release outside of 2023’s Hypnotic, which opened in 2,118 locations back in May of 2023. The distributor will follow-up in quick succession with the action film, Weekend in Taipei, set to release on November 8th. We are still awaiting a theater count for Goodrich but will update it as we receive one.

Making its way back into theaters just in time for Halloween is Hocus Pocus. The film has become a staple in recent years, opening in theaters throughout North America in early to mid-October. The cult classic will start out showing in 1,480 movie houses this weekend.

Another film making its theatrical debut this weekend is the Titus Kaphar-directed drama, Exhibiting Forgiveness. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival entry follows an admired American painter whose path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a conscience-stricken man desperate to reconcile. Exhibiting Forgiveness will launch in 774 venues.

Opening in 630 locations this weekend is the Canadian Black comedy, Rumours. The movie follows the seven leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies at the annual G7 summit after they become lost in the woods and face increasing peril while attempting to draft a provisional statement regarding a global crisis.

Expanding from five locations last week to a wide 955 this weekend is We Live in Time. The British drama starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh secured $225,911 in its domestic opening weekend, a few short weeks after premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Rounding out the top five this weekend are studio brethren, as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Joker: Folie á Deux fall to the third and fourth place spots, respectively, playing in 3,251 and 2,857 locations. Occupying the fifth-widest release this weekend is the current box office champ, Terrifier 3, adding 248 cinemas for a total of 2,857 theaters. The slasher-horror has placed at the top of the box office charts five out of the six days of its release, only falling second to The Wild Robot on Monday’s daily chart.

Looking ahead to next weekend, we see the release of two new wide releases in the form of Venom: The Last Dance and Conclave. The latter is projected to begin its run in approximately 1,800 locations.