Box Office Report for the Week of September 22

Unsurprisingly, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice holds the fort as the number one film of the weekend for the third time, with a $26 million tally, now bringing its global gross to over $330 million. Tim Burton has a real critical and commercial winner on his hands, something he hasn’t experienced in a long time.

He could’ve gotten a real contender on his hands with Wolfs, which reunited Brad Pitt and George Clooney in a crime caper reminiscent of their Ocean’s days. It would’ve gotten a wide theatrical release had Apple not been such chickens and decided to pivot at the very last minute. I was one of the lucky few who saw the movie in IMAX this weekend, and it would’ve absolutely filled screens had the streamer stayed the course and continued to release (some) theatrical-exclusive movies with box office potential.

It’s understandable why Apple would think this way and decide to make theatrical-exclusive films no longer, but anyone who saw the Argylle trailer a thousand times in front of a movie knew that it was destined to flop—the same with Fly Me to the Moon. However, Clooney and Pitt still draw in the big bucks and are considered two of the last Hollywood stars. It’s a no-brainer to get a theatrical release instead of dropping it on Apple TV+ a week after its limited run with zero fanfare.

There was also no chance in hell that Transformers One would even touch Beetlejuice (or Wolfs, had it played the way it was supposed to). As good as the movie is, the trailer was the absolute nail in the coffin for this one, and an overabundance of early screenings (it has been screening since July) could’ve also been a factor that would explain why one of the best-reviewed movies of the Transformers franchise did not perform well this weekend.

It opened with a lousy $25 million, though its budget is fairly low ($75 million), so it may leg out and turn a profit. We’ll have to see how the second weekend fares for this one, but it will have significant competition in The Wild Robot next week, which is getting rave reviews from critics and considerable awards buzz.

Speaking of buzz, The Substance is making quite a splash (or splat, if we’re more in line with the movie) in cinemas. Its opening was MUBI’s highest-grossing ever, with $3.1 million in 1,949 theatres. Many people walked out at the (sold-out) advanced screening I attended, which garnered plenty of vivid reactions from the audience who discovered the multiple swings director Coralie Fargeat took with her film. Of course, such an experience is bound to create hyperbolically positive and negative word-of-mouth, encouraging someone to ultimately see and forge their own opinion.

Joey wrote a piece on the movie’s Oscar chances, which you can read here. Personally, I’m a bit wary of its chances to snag a Best Picture nomination because of how violent and excessive it gets, but it’s definitely going to be one of the most talked-about movies of the year, good or bad. That alone could create a potential campaign to snag some award nominations. Which ones and where? Time will tell, but this will not be the last time you will hear about this movie, even after seeing it.

Here’s the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros): $26M (-49%) – 4,172 theatres
2. Transformers One (Paramount): $25M – 3,978 theatres
3. Speak No Evil (Universal): $5.9M (-48%) – 3,375 theatres
4. Never Let Go (Lionsgate): $4.5M – 2,667 theatres
5. Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney): $3.9M (-25%) – 2,450 theatres
6. The Substance (MUBI): $3.1M – 1,949 theatres
7. Am I Racist? (SDG Releasing): $2.5M (-44%) – 1,600 theatres
8. Reagan (Showbiz Direct Distribution): $1.7M (-43%) – 1,850 theatres
9. JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL (Trafalgar Releasing): $1.4M – 769 theatres
10. Alien: Romulus (Disney): $1.3M (-44%) – 1,350 theatres

Source: Comscore