Universal and Blumhouse’s horror sequel Black Phone 2 kicked off the Halloween season with a strong debut, earning $27.3 million across 3,411 North American theaters. The film’s performance easily topped what was otherwise a quiet weekend at the domestic box office.
Black Phone 2 opened slightly above Sunday’s estimate of $26.5 million and roughly $4 million ahead of its 2022 predecessor, which grossed $23 million during a time when theaters were still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
To put the difference in context, the first Black Phone debuted in fourth place behind Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick, and Jurassic World: Dominion during the height of the summer movie season.
In contrast, the sequel had this October weekend mostly to itself. The only other major newcomer, Lionsgate’s R-rated comedy Good Fortune, debuted in third place with just $6.2 million from 2,990 locations.
Taking second place was Disney’s sci-fi sequel Tron: Ares, earning $11.1 million from 4,000 screens, a steep 66% drop from its opening weekend. According to Comscore, October’s overall box office is currently down 11% compared to the same point in 2024. However, the year’s cumulative box office is still 4% higher than last year, though more than 20% below pre-pandemic figures.
Internationally, Black Phone 2 brought in $15.5 million, pushing its global total to $42.8 million. While these numbers are promising, Universal and Blumhouse invested more this time around, spending $30 million to bring back Ethan Hawke as the serial killer known as the Grabber, a noticeable increase from the first film’s $18 million budget.
“We’ve seen word-of-mouth grow over the weekend,” said Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr. “The reasons are simple: Blumhouse and director Scott Derrickson have crafted something that’s terrifying, with a great cast. It’s just what audiences want to see in theaters.”
Since box office revenue is typically split evenly between studios and theaters, Black Phone 2 will need to maintain momentum to count as a true win for Blumhouse.
The low-budget horror studio, responsible for hits like Paranormal Activity, The Purge, Get Out, and Halloween, has built a reputation for high profit margins, but its fortunes have faltered recently with disappointments such as Wolf Man and M3GAN 2.0. Blumhouse hopes to bounce back further with another sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, arriving in December.
The story follows an inept but well-meaning angel (Reeves) who orchestrates a body swap between a struggling gig worker (Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Rogen).
“This is a fair opening for an original character-driven comedy,” said David A. Gross, who heads Franchise Entertainment Research. “However, even with Keanu Reeves helping ancillary business, the movie is unlikely to recoup its costs.”
Meanwhile, Tron: Ares continues to struggle financially. After two weekends, the futuristic sequel has earned $54.6 million domestically and $103 million worldwide. While crossing the $100 million mark is notable, Disney spent $180 million on production and millions more on marketing. As a result, Tron: Ares will need a strong hold in the coming weeks to justify its steep costs.
Elsewhere, Channing Tatum’s dramedy Roofman and Leonardo DiCaprio’s action comedy One Battle After Another rounded out the domestic box office’s top five. Roofman earned $3.7 million from 3,370 theaters in its second weekend, a 55% drop, for a total of $15.5 million domestically and $16.4 million worldwide. Despite the modest earnings, its $18 million budget keeps it from being a total loss.
One Battle After Another grossed $3.75 million from 2,532 theaters in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $61 million. The Warner Bros. film, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, has earned $100 million internationally for a worldwide total of $162.5 million. The figure is impressive for an original, nearly three-hour-long R-rated film.
However, with a production budget exceeding $130 million and about $70 million spent on marketing, the film would need around $300 million to break even. Insiders estimate it may lose around $100 million in theaters, though Warner Bros. disputes those claims. Still, the movie is expected to be a major Oscar contender, giving it value beyond pure box office returns.
Another new entry, Angel Studios’ Truth and Treason, debuted in sixth place with $2.7 million from 2,106 locations. The World War II drama follows a teenage resistance fighter who takes a stand against the Nazi regime. Audiences gave the film an “A” on CinemaScore.
Elsewhere, Luca Guadagnino’s #MeToo-inspired thriller After the Hunt failed to gain traction in its nationwide expansion, earning just $1.56 million from 1,238 theaters to land in seventh place. Including its limited release, the Julia Roberts-led drama has grossed only $1.77 million to date, a disappointing result given its star-studded cast, which also includes Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield.
In limited release, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident earned $68,000 from three theaters in New York and Los Angeles, averaging $22,000 per location. The Neon release, expected to be a strong awards contender, has grossed $115,000 since Wednesday.
Richard Linklater’s dramedy Blue Moon didn’t fare as well among specialty titles, earning $67,060 from five locations for a $13,412 per-screen average. Ethan Hawke also stars in Blue Moon, in a much different role from Black Phone 2, portraying songwriter Lorenz Hart as he reflects on the opening night of Oklahoma, the new musical by his former collaborator Richard Rodgers.