The House With A Clock In Its Walls performed above tracking this weekend while A Simple Favor moved up the chart thanks to solid word of mouth.
The House With A Clock In Its Walls grossed $26.6 million to claim the number one spot over the weekend. The film was tracking in the low twenties for its opening so this is a major win as the film carries a modest $40 million budget. The film scored a “B+” CinemaScore which is solid for the family release and it should play well throughout October, at least until the sequel to Goosebumps hits screens in a few weeks.
Some have suggested that this film won’t have a ton of international appeal and that remains to be seen. The film debuted in just 14 markets, bringing in an estimated $9 million led by its opening in the UK with $4.4 million. Next weekend the film will open in France, Russia, and Thailand.
Moving up to second place, after finishing third last week, is A Simple Favor with $10.2 million. The film experienced a solid hold, dropping only 36% from its opening last week. The film has grossed $32.4 million domestically and $10 million from overseas markets. According to box office stats, the film is playing surprisingly well with the over 25 crowds which should continue to keep the word of mouth strong. The film carries a slim $20 million budget so Lionsgate has to be happy with the results so far.
Falling to third is The Nun with $9.9 million. The film saw a better hold this weekend compared to last with a drop of 45.4% and it has now grossed $100.6 million at the domestic box office. The film cost only $22 million to make so it was a hit after its opening weekend and it’s proving to be an even bigger hit overseas. The film was released in its final 18 markets and for the third weekend in a row is the #1 film overseas bringing in an estimated $35.4 million from 80 total markets, pushing the film’s global tally to $292.6 million. The film’s release in Mexico continues to be the top-grossing market with just over $20 million while openings this weekend included South Korea ($4.6m), France ($4.4m), Russia ($4.3m) and Italy ($2.9m).
Dropping to fourth is The Predator with $9.1 million. The film saw a steep drop of 62.7% and has now grossed $40.9 million at the domestic box office. The film carries an $88 million budget and it’s not going to reach that amount stateside so it’s going to have to rely on foreign grosses to make any traction. Internationally, the film brought in an estimated $15.3 million from 82 markets for an international gross reaching $54.5 million. This weekend’s new openings included Mexico ($3.2m) and Colombia ($609k) with Russia remaining the film’s top market with an estimated $6.5 million. Upcoming major market releases include Belgium (Oct 3), France (Oct 17) and Italy (Oct 11).
Rounding out the top five is Crazy Rich Asians with $6.3 million. The film dropped just 27% which is impressive for a film that has been in release for 6 weeks. Henry Golding can claim bragging rights that he has two films in the top five box office with this film & A Simple Favor. The romantic comedy hit has now grossed $159.2 million domestically and is a lock to outgross the $164 million of 2009’s The Proposal to become the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the last nine years.
