‘Smile 2’ Matches Its Predecessor With $23 Million Box Office Opening

There’s good news for several films at the box office this weekend, starting with Paramount’s “Smile 2,” which despite competition from the gory indie darling “Terrifier 3” is set to match the opening weekend of its predecessor with a $23 million launch from 3,619 theaters after earning $9.4 million on Friday, including $2.5 million from Thursday previews.

Two years ago, “Smile” earned a $22.6 million opening in September, going on to gross $109.5 million domestic and $217.4 million worldwide against a $17 million production budget. “Smile 2,” which stars Naomi Scott as a pop star doomed by a fatal curse, only has a slightly higher budget at $28 million and has earned positive reception with a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 84% critics and 86% audience.

The good news for theaters is that none of this has come at the expense of “Terrifier 3,” which is continuing to draw in audiences daring to take on the challenge of watching Damien Leone’s ultraviolent slasher threequel. In its second weekend, the Cineverse/Bloody Disgusting release is headed for a $9.6 million frame, dropping just 48% from its $18.8 million start as it heads for an estimated two weekend total of $36.4 million.

With this result, “Terrifier 3” is set to gross at least $50 million against its miniscule $2.5 million production and marketing spend, becoming one of the top 5 horror films of the box office this year. With Halloween still ahead, all signs point to the film continuing to leg out.

Also opening in the top 5 this weekend is A24/StudioCanal’s romantic drama “We Live in Time” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, making $1.8 million from 985 theaters as it heads for an industry estimated $4.3 million opening weekend. Reception for the film has been strong with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 80% critics and 94% audience.

And on the limited release side, Neon’s “Anora” is set to have an incredible opening in New York and Los Angeles. Based on industry estimates, “Anora” is set to earn $650,000 from just six theaters, giving it the best per theater average of the year at $108,333.

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