Black Phone 2 Rings Up $27.3M Opening—Is Blumhouse’s Horror Magic Casting a Spell on Audiences Again?
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Is fate playing a cosmic joke on Blumhouse? Just as Mars storms stir up a tempest in the sky, Scott Derrickson’s Black Phone 2 has blasted onto the scene with a spine-chilling $42.8 million global debut—turning heads and haunting box offices alike. After a faltering streak that included the pricey flop of M3GAN 2.0, horror maestro Jason Blum is finally back in the winner’s circle, proving that sometimes the stars—and a killer sequel—align perfectly. With Ethan Hawke back as the murderous Grabber and a fresh twist that chills to the bone, Black Phone 2 didn’t just beat expectations; it preyed on them. So, is this the beginning of a new Blumhouse era or just a fleeting eclipse in an otherwise rocky run? Either way, it’s a horror fan’s dream (or nightmare) come true. LEARN MORE
Blumhouse is back in action.
Scott Derrickson’s Black Phone 2 delivered horror maestro Jason Blum a major win in opening to a terrifyingly great $27.3 million from 3,411 theaters domestically and $15.5 million from 72 markets overseas for a global start of $42.8 million against a relatively modest $30 million production budget, according to final weekend numbers. The pic’s debut follows a string of misses for the Universal-based banner, culminating with the pricey flop of M3GAN 2.0 earlier this year.
And with Sunday traffic coming in ahead of modeling, Black Phone 2‘s official opening tally was even higher than an estimated $26.5 million domestically, which was already better-than-expected and ahead of the first film.
The sequel easily came in No. 1 in North America ahead of Disney tentpole Tron: Ares — which remained in dire trouble in its sophomore outing. Black Phone 2 was praised by critics for expanding the Black Phone universe, while it also scored strong audience exits, including a B CinemaScore (that’s a great grade for the horror genre). Also notable: Latinos, the most frequent moviegoers in the U.S., made up the largest segment of the audience at roughly 39 percent. Internationally, Mexico led all markets with $4.3 million, a huge number for a horror title.
The sequel returns Ethan Hawke as the serial killer known as Grabber, and Mason Thames as Finn. In the follow-up, the sinister killer seeks vengeance on Finn from beyond the grave by menacing his younger sister, Gwen, who is played by Madeleine McGraw.
Heading into the weekend, Universal had the movie’s debut at $18 million, but prerelease tracking turned out to be right in predicting that the R-rated sequel would come in ahead of the first film.
Black Phone, opening in 2021 when cinemas were first recovering from COVID-19, started off with $23.6 million in North America on its way to turning into a sleeper hit, amassing more than $161 million in worldwide ticket sales (that was before horror fatigue struck at the box office), not adjusted for inflation.
Tron: Ares tumbled nearly 67 percent in its sophomore outing to $11.1 million from 4,000 cinemas for a 10-day domestic tally of $54.6 million. Overseas, the threequel earned another $14.3 million, including a dismal $2.8 million from its debut in China, for a foreign cume of $49.4 million and $103 million globally (the problem? Ares cost a net $180 million to produce and will be a major financial loser regardless of whether it was $180 million or $200 million-plus, as some sources have suggested it cost.)
Lionsgate’s Aziz Ansari-directed comedy Good Fortune launched nationwide this weekend, but didn’t find much gold despite good reviews and a star-packed cast that includes Seth Rogen, Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh and Keanu Reeves. The $30 million feature, about a scruffy guardian angel assigned to save someone’s soul, took in a $6.2 million from 2,990 locations domestically for a third-place finish.
Warner Bros.’ One Battle After Another cleared the $100 million mark internationally in its fourth weekend, for a global total of $162.5 million. In North America, it grossed an estimated $3.85 million from 2,532 theaters for a fourth-place finish and domestic tally of $61.7 million, according to weekend actuals. Overseas, the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed awards contender earned another $11.8 million from 71 markets for a foreign tally of $100.6 million.
Miramax’s crime comedy Roofman, starring Channing Tatum and Kirstin Dunst, rounded out the top five in its second weekend with $3.73 million from 3,379 theaters for a domestic total of $15.5 million and $16.4 million globally against a $19 million budget. Paramount has distribution duties in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.
Angel Studios’ Nazi holocaust drama Truth & Treason, based on a true story, opened in sixth place with $2.7 million from 2,106 locations. It was the only new nationwide release to earn an A CinemaScore.
At the specialty box office, Luca Guadagnino‘s psychological thriller After the Hunt struggled as it expanded from six to 1,238 theaters in its second weekend, grossing $1.5 million for a ninth-place finish for an early domestic tally of $1.7 million, according to final number. Guadagnino’s latest outing was expected to be an awards contender across top categories heading into the Venice Film Festival. However, when middling reviews suggested it was a rare miss for the acclaimed filmmaker, it changed the narrative in terms of best picture and best director, although Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri have been singled out for their performances. Audiences are having similar reactions; when expanding this weekend, After the Hunt was slapped with a C- CinemaScore.
Meanwhile, Tom Quinn’s team at Oscar-winning indie outfit at Neon struck again: Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s awards contender and critically acclaimed It Was Just an Accident opened on Wednesday in three cinemas in New York and Los Angeles, and is reporting a final five-day, per-location average of $38,424, up from Sunday estimates. For the weekend itself, it also came in higher than expected to boast the highest per-location average of the weekend, or $22,674. It also passed up Sony Picture Classics’ I’m Still Here, released in January, to score the second-best opening location average of the year so far for a foreign language film, or $22,765 from five theaters. (I’m Still Here opened over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but the three-day location number was $22,742.)
This marks Panahi’s first movie in two decades since being released from prison by Iranian officials, who also finally lifted a ban allowing him to travel.
Following the film’s world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Accident won the coveted Palme d’Or, marking Neon’s sixth consecutive Palme d’Or win (the last was Anora, which swept the Oscars earlier this year, including the best picture category.) Panahi’s new film has also been selected as France’s official submission for best international film at the 98th Oscar ceremony in 2026, but is also planning to campaign for best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best editing. And with awards season about to kick into high gear, tributes are being planned around the world to honor the filmmaker, or have already happened, such as a conversation with Martin Scorsese at the New York Film Festival (Panahi encountered Visa delays because of the U.S. federal government shutdown and was late getting to the fest).
Mubi’s leading awards contender, The Mastermind, didn’t disappoint in its launch in the U.S and posted the second-best per-location average of the weekend, or an estimated $20,793, as well as the strongest of director-writer Kelly Reichardt’s career, when opening in five theaters in New York and L.A. Mubi is reporting that many showings were sold out; a number of screenings were followed by Q&As targeting awards voters. Loosely inspired by a famous art heist in the 1970s, the critically acclaimed film stars Josh O’Connor as a struggling architect who decides to steal four Richard Drove paintings. Alana Haim, John Magaro and Hope Davis are among the film’s other stars. A key test will come next weekend when it expands wide.
Oct. 10, 1:30 p.m.: Updated with additional grosses.
Oct. 11, 2:00 p.m.: Updated with final weekend numbers from Comcore.
This story was originally published 7:41 a.m. on Oct. 19.
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