‘Smile 2’ Box Office Could Reach $22 Million; ‘We Live In Time’ Grows

SATURDAY AM: Paramount’s $28M production Smile 2 is in great shape with a $23M opening after a $9.4M Friday and a B CinemaScore. That’s better than the B- on the first one. No one’s projections show this horror movie falling apart with a Saturday hold that’s around -15%. Good times for the Melrose lot before the Skydance merger storms: They fully unveiled Gladiator II to press and actors branch members last night and from the look of the crowd throughout the two-hour-plus movie, everyone was so locked in and transfixed, no one dared leave for the bathroom. In sum, they loved it.

Updated Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak exits show 3 stars on Smile 2 with 31% men over 25 for the R-rated movie (up from 28% on Smile), 24% apiece for men under 25 and women over 25 (a little lower for each versus 2022 movie), and women under 25 at 22% (up from 20% on part one). 18-34 is close to 70%, which is right around what the first one pulled in. Diversity demos were 35% Caucasian, 33% Latino and Hispanic (both better than the first), 15% Black and 11% Asian. Walk-up business is very good with 67% buying their tickets same day. Thirty-four percent came because it’s part of a franchise they love.

Smile 2 is the happiest in the East, South, South Central and West, but really coast to coast. The AMC Empire NY is the pic’s top grossing site through Friday with $28K.

Smile 2‘s social media reach across TikTok, X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube counted 154.4M followers per analytics corp RelishMix ahead of opening which notches ahead of Saw X (134M) and The Nun II (149.8M). The repost rate on trailers for Smile 2 was 11 to 1, which indicated that this movie was destined for a $20M+ opening.

Upbeat word of mouth according to RelishMix: “Many fans of the original 2022 horror film anticipating the next chapter in Parker Finn’s series are appreciating the new direction and focal point of suspense in this sequel saying, ‘I feel like the first Smile took on the psychological aspect of the curse, a full-on horror. This feels equally terrifying but includes more social aspects to it,’ and, ‘The fact that this evil spirit can possess little kids is unnerving.’ The terror is still present, sharing, ‘Smile 1 was my favorite horror movie when it premiered.’”

Other great news for adult films after last weekend’s wipeout include Studio Canal and A24’s We Live in Time doing $4.3M for $4,3K theater average, but then there’s NEON’s exclusive six theater play of Cannes Palme D’or winner, Sean Baker’s Anora, which is very va-va voom and on its way to posting the second-best opening theater average post Covid with $105K (after Asteroid City‘s $142,2K) or an estimated $630K at six theaters. The movie is showing great ticket sales at NYC’s Lincoln Center, Angelika NY, Alamo Brooklyn and LA’s AMC Century City, Grove and Burbank. Note this is also the best theater average to date this year, ahead of Searchlight’s Kinds of Kindness which did a $75,4K opening theater average. Reviews for Anora are rock solid at 98% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

As far as the magic of We Live in Time, the British romance is playing best in the West, South and Mountain regions; it’s not just for metropolitan audiences. Friday was $1.8M. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a fantastic 94%.

Disney has the re-release of 1993’s Hocus Pocus at 1,480 locations which did $287K yesterday for what’s shaping up to be a $940K 3-day. That gets the Kathy Najimy, Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler comedy to a lifetime of $50.2M by Sunday.

Ketchup Entertainment’s first weekend of Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis’ dramedy Goodrich at $600K fell flat at 1,055 theaters for a near $600 per location. As we told you yesterday, the film had fantastic exits.

Despite a solid opening by Smile 2, and a continued excellent hold by Wild Robot in weekend 4 at -24% or $10.7M and a $102.3M take by Sunday, the overall weekend at $71.3M is off 15% from a year ago when Taylor Swift: Eras Tour held in weekend 2 with a $33M+ take. Despite the strikes rocking last autumn’s box office, October 2023 put up solid comps, held together by Swift and Five Nights at Freddy‘s which wound up being the highest grossing horror film of the year.

Saturday numbers:

Holdovers:

The Apprentice (Briar) 1,131 (-609) theaters, Fri $195K (-67%), 3-day $700K (-57%), Total $3.27M/Wk 2

My Hero Academia: You’re Next (Toho) 1,590 (-255) theaters, Fri $189K (-78%), 3-day $660K (-78%), Total $4.6M/Wk 2
Toho’s purchase of US’ GKids indicates big things to come from the combined wattqage of these companies in the anime and Japanese genre space. Last year Toho’s Godzilla Minus One minted $56.4M while Gkids made Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron the highest grossing original anime movie stateside with $46.8M.

FRIDAY PM: Paramount’s Smile franchise is keeping up its staying power as Smile 2 is set to open to $22 million after an $8.8M Friday that includes previews. The pic is booked at 3,610 theaters. Others see it at this level too. No RT audience score yet.

Busting its way into the top five meanwhile is A24’s romance drama We Live in Time with around $1.75M today, about $4.3M for the weekend and a running total of $4.6M by EOD Sunday — and that’s at 955 theaters. Rotten Tomatoes critics are 80% certified fresh on the Florence Pugh-Andrew Garfield kleenex movie. That means a per theater of $4,500.

Thank God. For a minute there after three critically acclaimed movies — The Apprentice, Piece by Piece and Saturday Night — deep-sixed, the concern was that the future of adult-driven movies looked bleak. Saturday Night only did $1,400 per theater last weekend off its wide break at 2,308 theaters, or $3.4M.

DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s The Wild Robot won’t break down, remaining in second place in weekend 4 at 3,820 screens with a $2.65M Friday, $10M three-day, -29%, and a running total of $101.6M. That would make it DWA’s second movie after Kung Fu Panda 4 to pass the century mark this year. What’s up with this original animated movie? “It’s emotional and audiences connect with it, and know the book very well,” a rival distribution studio head says.

Cineverse’s Terrifier 3, booked at 2,762 screens, is seeing a second Friday of $2.5M and a second weekend between $7.5M-$8M, -58%. At the high end, the 10-day total is $34.9M.

Fourth goes to Warner Bros’ holding-like-a-rock Beetlejuice Beetlejuce at 3,251 sites, with a seventh Friday of $1.4M, seventh weekend of $5.1M, -30%, and a running total of $284M. The movie is available to rent or buy digitally.

PREVIOUSLY, FRIDAY AM: Paramount’s Smile 2 made $2.5 million from previews Thursday night that began at 5 p.m. at 3,000 locations, which marks a half-million higher than the 2022 movie’s preview figure. That first Smile went on to a $22.6M opening and legged out to $105.9M.

Presales had indicated high-teens for Smile 2 at this weekend’s domestic box office, but perhaps Paramount execs will have something to grin and the sequel goes higher. Smile 2 has all the PLF screens this weekend, while the Imax venues live with Warner Bros’ Joker: Folie à Deux.

Smile 2 is certified fresh with an 85% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, and PostTrak exits from fans last night are at 3 1/2 stars and 71% positive. Latino and Hispanic moviegoers were strong last night at 36%, with Caucasians showing up at 40%, Black moviegoers at 11% and Asian Americans at 7%.

Today, the sequel opens on 3,619 screens. Smile architect Parker Finn is back for the sequel, which cost $28M. The movie stars Aladdin‘s Naomi Scott as a pop star who freakishly sees grinning people while on tour.

Smile 2‘s preview cash is also on par with Blumhouse/Universal’s Tuesday preview of The First Purge, which did $2.5M back in 2018 on its way to a three-day total of $17.3M, and a five-day of $31.2M.

Meanwhile, Cineverse’s surprise Terrifier 3, per industry estimates, racked up $1.5M Thursday, -16%, for a first week’s take of $26.9M.

A24’s gradual expansion of We Live in Time saw $500,000 last night in previews as it heads to 955 theaters this weekend. The Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh romance drama received a 98% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. Fingers crossed: a lot of hope for another romance comeback at the box office with this movie. The John Crowley-directed title currently counts $820K all in stateside after playing its first weekend in five New York City and Los Angeles theaters bowing to $225,900.

There were previews last night for Ketchup Entertaiment’s Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis dramedy Goodrich. Waiting on a figure, but the audience exits were excellent at 5 stars and 93% positive with a turnout of 61% men, 39% female and a 65% over-35 audience. Critics are 68% fresh for this Hallie Meyers-Shyer-directed movie. Pic’s blurb: Andy Goodrich’s (Keaton) life is upended when his wife and mother of their 9-year-old twins enters a 90-day rehab program, leaving him on his own with their young kids. Thrust into the world of modern parenthood, Goodrich leans on his daughter from his first marriage, Grace (Kunis), as he ultimately evolves into the father Grace never had.