Weekend Actuals: ‘Venom’ Sets October Opening Record with $80.3M; ‘A Star is Born’ Rockets to $42.9M

Monday Update: Sony’s sci-fi Venom broke the all-time October opening weekend record this weekend with a confirmed $80.2M. That fell right on the uppermost end of pre-release projections, and higher than most analyst or industry predictions.

In pure dollars, the previous October opening record had been 2013’s Gravity with $55.7M. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, the previous record had been 2003’s Scary Movie 3 with a modern-day $73.9M.

Warner Bros.’ drama A Star Is Born opened in second place with a confirmed $42.9M, a promising start for a film that looks likely to hold well throughout the rest of October and into November.

Elsewhere at the box office:

  • Last weekend’s leader, Universal’s comedy Night Schoolfell to fourth place with a -54% drop to $12.5M.
  • Fox’s drama The Hate U Give started with $512K on 36 screens in limited release, prior to a nationwide expansion later this month.
  • National Geographic Entertainment’s documentary Free Solowhich last weekend set 2018’s current record for per-screen average, climbed to $562K on 41 screens.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $176.6M.

That’s +66.9% above last weekend and +67.3% above this same weekend last year, when Blade Runner 2049 led with $32.7M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $9.10B. That’s +9.6% ahead of this same date last year, up from +8.7% after last weekend.

Demographics

The audience for Venom was 63.5% male and 40.4% below age 25.

The audience for A Star Is Born was 52.6% male and only 19.0% below age 25.

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was The Predator at 67.9%, while the most female audience was Crazy Rich Asians at 59.4%.

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Smallfoot at 57.9%, while the most over-25 audience was Peppermint at 81.0%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is included below:

Our full table of weekend actuals is below, followed by our Sunday update with fuller analysis.


Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 5 – SUN, OCT. 7

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Venom $80,255,756 4,250 $18,884 $80,255,756 1 Sony / Columbia
2 A Star is Born $42,908,051 3,686 $11,641 $44,258,051 1 Warner Bros.
3 Smallfoot $14,402,559 -38% 4,131 0 $3,486 $42,263,504 2 Warner Bros.
4 Night School $12,514,925 -54% 3,019 9 $4,145 $46,991,280 2 Universal
5 The House With A Clock In Its Walls $7,332,665 -42% 3,463 -129 $2,117 $55,089,225 3 Universal Pictures
6 A Simple Favor $3,424,954 -48% 2,408 -665 $1,422 $49,004,310 4 Lionsgate
7 The Nun $2,703,281 -50% 2,264 -1067 $1,194 $113,460,591 5 Warner Bros.
8 Crazy Rich Asians $2,166,626 -47% 1,466 -881 $1,478 $169,241,568 8 Warner Bros.
9 Hell Fest $2,083,759 -59% 2,297 0 $907 $8,873,235 2 Lionsgate / CBS Films
10 The Predator $947,358 -75% 1,643 -1283 $577 $50,033,247 4 Fox
11 Disney’s Christopher Robin $435,545 28% 1,638 968 $266 $98,102,927 10 Disney

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 White Boy Rick $603,341 -75% 880 -1137 $686 $23,351,427 4 Sony / Studio 8
2 Colette $492,981 28% 107 69 $4,607 $1,272,741 3 Bleecker Street
3 Peppermint $473,806 -73% 813 -1189 $583 $34,717,200 5 STX Entertainment
4 Searching $443,106 -54% 412 -602 $1,076 $25,649,766 7 Sony Pictures
5 The Wife $383,403 -46% 358 -79 $1,071 $6,790,237 8 Sony Pictures Classics
6 Mission: Impossible – Fallout $321,576 -49% 361 -177 $891 $219,754,005 11 Paramount
7 Incredibles 2 $280,305 3% 244 -94 $1,149 $607,125,392 17 Disney
8 The Meg $266,049 -74% 533 -710 $499 $142,491,832 9 Warner Bros.
9 Fahrenheit 11/9 $238,510 -79% 422 -1297 $565 $5,985,895 3 Briarcliff Entertainment
10 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation $230,377 -17% 230 -184 $1,002 $166,735,989 15 Sony / Columbia
11 Shine (2018) $205,842 609 $338 $205,842 1 GVN Releasing
12 Little Women (2018) $171,892 -76% 451 -192 $381 $1,170,508 2 Pinnacle Peak
13 BlacKkKlansman $165,155 -63% 158 -278 $1,045 $48,179,465 9 Focus Features
14 Unbroken: Path to Redemption $160,208 -67% 335 -406 $478 $5,991,271 4 Pure Flix
15 Monsters and Men $146,092 23% 143 125 $1,022 $306,041 2 Neon
16 Ant-Man and the Wasp $134,126 -49% 178 -80 $754 $216,370,952 14 Disney
17 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again $60,900 -53% 135 -43 $451 $120,587,890 12 Universal Pictures
18 Alpha $50,128 -68% 103 -145 $487 $35,596,262 8 Sony / Columbia
19 Operation Finale $42,353 -66% 111 -101 $382 $17,549,231 6 MGM
20 Life Itself $38,443 -94% 242 -2113 $159 $4,063,867 3 Amazon Studios

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Free Solo $562,786 91% 41 37 $13,726 $977,697 2 National Geographic Entertainment
2 The Hate U Give $512,035 36 $14,223 $512,035 1 20th Century Fox
3 The Old Man & The Gun $403,928 184% 49 44 $8,243 $594,383 2 Fox Searchlight
4 The Sisters Brothers $203,525 -13% 54 31 $3,769 $690,023 3 Annapurna Pictures
5 Mandy $75,834 -37% 41 -23 $1,850 $1,005,909 4 RLJE Films
6 Tea With the Dames $65,000 53% 42 23 $1,548 $152,233 3 IFC Films
7 Love, Gilda $55,514 -59% 74 -34 $750 $539,976 3 Magnolia Pictures
8 Pick of the Litter $50,940 -29% 58 -2 $878 $451,518 6 IFC Films
9 The Great Battle $45,175 -53% 16 -8 $2,823 $399,498 3 Well Go USA Entertainment
10 Golden Job $37,391 -69% 15 -19 $2,493 $226,187 2 Well Go USA Entertainment
11 The Children Act $31,980 -62% 52 -21 $615 $432,541 4 A24
12 Blaze $31,704 -63% 78 -10 $406 $645,883 8 IFC Films / Sundance Selects
13 Ya Veremos $25,889 -50% 37 -21 $700 $4,155,094 6 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
14 A.X.L. $22,513 -38% 55 -30 $409 $6,488,582 7 Global Road Entertainment
15 God Bless the Broken Road $22,142 -39% 53 -58 $418 $2,822,786 5 Freestyle Releasing
16 Teen Titans GO! to the Movies $20,215 -68% 87 -39 $232 $29,553,885 11 Warner Bros.
17 Kusama – Infinity $20,199 -52% 20 2 $1,010 $272,989 5 Magnolia Pictures
18 Juliet, Naked $18,869 -71% 33 -41 $572 $3,406,456 8 Roadside Attractions / Lionsgate
19 Lizzie $17,850 -80% 25 -181 $714 $613,172 4 Saban Films / Roadside Attractions
20 Loving Pablo $16,564 15 $1,104 $16,564 1 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
21 Slender Man $15,831 -48% 30 -38 $528 $30,461,318 9 Sony / Screen Gems
22 All About Nina $15,728 -41% 23 19 $684 $50,859 2 The Orchard
23 Studio 54 $14,909 1 $14,909 $14,909 1 Zeitgeist Films
24 The Negotiation $13,833 -64% 8 -5 $1,729 $99,269 3 CJ Entertainment
25 Three Identical Strangers $13,474 23 $586 $12,301,012 15 Neon
26 Sorry To Bother You $10,398 -54% 11 -19 $945 $17,474,288 14 Annapurna Pictures
27 The Cakemaker $8,484 138% 6 -1 $1,414 $853,094 15 Strand Releasing
28 Assassination Nation $7,752 -96% 15 -1020 $517 $1,941,709 3 Neon
29 Puzzle $7,222 -80% 22 -79 $328 $2,005,515 11 Sony Pictures Classics
30 The Riot Act $6,943 3 $2,314 $69,704 4 Hannover House
31 Black ’47 $5,723 -33% 6 5 $954 $17,185 2 IFC Films
32 Heavy Trip $5,419 16 $339 $5,419 1 Music Box Films / Doppelgänger Releasing
33 Moynihan $4,416 1 $4,416 $7,983 1 First Run Features
34 1945 $4,270 -46% 7 -4 $610 $929,455 49 Menemsha Films
35 Bad Reputation $3,914 -97% 7 -189 $559 $144,459 2 Magnolia Pictures
36 Beautifully Broken $3,360 8% 4 1 $840 $1,201,545 7 ArtAffects Entertainment
37 Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco $3,109 18% 5 2 $622 $29,545 4 Film Movement
38 We The Animals $2,631 -74% 7 -23 $376 $398,010 8 The Orchard
39 I Am Not a Witch $2,488 -14% 7 -1 $355 $39,078 5 Film Movement
40 The Apparition $2,076 -39% 2 0 $1,038 $25,333 5 Music Box Films
41 RBG $2,029 45% 4 -8 $507 $14,015,548 23 Magnolia Pictures
42 Bel Canto $1,895 -84% 4 -14 $474 $77,148 4 Cartilage Films
43 Death of a Nation $1,799 38% 16 9 $112 $5,884,034 10 Quality Flix / Pure Flix
44 The Rider $1,765 -5% 1 0 $1,765 $2,398,681 26 Sony Pictures Classics
45 Memoir of War $1,709 -95% 5 -1 $342 $92,697 8 Music Box Films
46 Let the Corpses Tan $1,646 -62% 2 -11 $823 $82,637 6 Kino Lorber
47 Perfect Blue (2018 re-release) $1,565 38% 1 -1 $1,565 $444,329 5 GKIDS
48 The Darkest Minds $1,515 -58% 10 -9 $152 $12,693,802 10 20th Century Fox
49 Deadpool 2 $1,290 -47% 7 2 $184 $318,490,305 21 Fox
50 Poor Boy $1,262 1 $1,262 $30,279 13 Indican Pictures
51 Painless $683 -24% 1 0 $683 $5,912 3 Indican Pictures
52 What Will People Say $675 -75% 1 -1 $675 $40,570 13 Kino Lorber
53 Nico, 1988 $505 14% 1 -3 $505 $73,304 10 Magnolia Pictures
54 Support The Girls $419 -76% 3 0 $140 $127,812 7 Magnolia Pictures
55 The Atomic Cafe $309 0% 2 1 $155 $20,910 10 Kino Lorber
56 Cynthia $222 -47% 1 0 $222 $57,881 6 Indican Pictures
57 The Third Murder $186 -38% 1 0 $186 $84,152 12 Film Movement
58 Ganja & Hess $117 1 $117 $17,968 19 Kino Lorber
59 Filmworker $88 1 $88 $99,437 22 Kino Lorber

Sunday Update: Venom and A Star Is Born both burned bright at the box office this weekend, sending the charts to an all-time October weekend record with spectacular debuts of $80 million and $42.6 million, respectively. Additionally, the former title easily surpassed Gravity‘s $55.7 million debut to set a new record for a film opening in October.

Starring Tom Hardy as an investigative journalist taken over by a vicious alien symbiote, Venom far exceeded expectations, as some had even questioned its ability to overtake Gravity for the October record going into the weekend. But all doubts were quelled when the Sony release blasted its way to a terrific $32.75 million opening on Friday, just shy of the opening day grosses of both Ant-Man and the Wasp ($33.72 million) and Logan ($33 million).

While critics were generally unkind to Venom (it has a 32% at Rotten Tomatoes), the Marvel character’s core fanbase clearly could not be dissuaded. And according to audience surveys, moviegoers were generally happy with the film, as it netted a “B+” Cinemascore and an 89 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. That said, it’s entirely possible Venom will prove to be a frontloaded affair, much like the similarly dark-hued comic book movie Suicide Squad. That film was also lambasted by critics (it had a 28% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and boasted an identical “B+” Cinemascore, and it fell hard in its sophomore frame, dropping a sizable 67.4% (though it held considerably better in subsequent weekends). It finished its North American run with $325.1 million after debuting to a massive $133.6 million, giving it a weekend-t0-final multiplier of 2.4x. If Venom performs similarly, it could be looking at a final gross somewhere in the range of $190-$200 million.

Coming in a very impressive second was Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born, which brought in $42.6 million (including $1.35 million from special fan previews on Tuesday and Wednesday) on 3,686 screens. The Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper romance, which has been riding a wave of buzz since premiering at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, served up a strong counter-programming choice for audiences not predisposed to gobbling up the latest superhero release. Its Rotten Tomatoes score of 90% and a strong marketing push by the studio (the film’s trailer recall has been strong over the last several weeks, consistently beating out Venom) have been key in getting audiences excited for the film, which also benefitted from Lady Gaga’s massive pre-existing fanbase. The audience for the film skewed largely female (66% to 34% male), while 68% of the audience was over the age of 35.

A Star Is Born has all the makings of a leggy late-year hit in the vein of recent releases like La La Land and The Greatest Showman, which finished their runs with $151.1 million and $174.3 million, respectively. While those titles aren’t a perfect comparison – neither grossed more than $20 million on a single weekend, for instance – one could reasonably expect A Star Is Born to finish in the same ballpark and perhaps even higher, assuming it holds up well in the weeks ahead. And given its “A” Cinemascore and the studio’s sure-to-be no-holds-barred awards season push, we have no reason to believe that it won’t.

As for last weekend’s top two titles, Smallfoot beat out Night School for third place with an estimated $14.9 million, giving the Warner Bros. release a good $42.7 million after ten days. That represents a 35 percent drop and puts it about 10 percent of Storks and 18 percent ahead of the LEGO Ninjago Movie at the same point. Next week brings some competition in the form of Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, though no major animated titles are set to hit theaters until Dr. Suess’ The Grinch on November 9, so it still has a pretty good window in the coming weeks.

In fourth place was last weekend’s No. 1 Night School, which dipped 55 percent to an estimated $12.2 million in its sophomore frame. With $46.7 million after ten days of release, the Tiffany Haddish-Kevin Hart comedy is pacing just behind Hart’s 2014 sequel Think Like a Man Too, which brought in just over $48 million by the end of its second weekend. While Night School‘s gross so far falls on the lower end of the spectrum for a typical Hart comedy, it’s nonetheless a solid total and another ace in the hole for Hart, Haddish, Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee and the film’s hit-minting producer Will Packer.

Another former champ, Universal’s The House With a Clock in Its Walls, took fifth place with an estimated $7.3 million in its third weekend. That gives the Jack Black fantasy a total of $55.1 million after 17 days, putting it roughly 3 percent behind the pace of Black’s family-driven Goosebumps from 2015.

In sixth place was director Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor, which brought in an estimated $3.4 million in its fourth weekend. The Lionsgate sleeper now has $49 million in the bank.

Down in seventh, The Nun brought in an estimated $2.6 million for a total of $113.3 million so far, while Hell Fest brought in an estimated $2.07 million in eighth place. The total for the Lionsgate horror release now stands at an okay $8.8 million after ten days.

Rounding out the Top 10 were holdovers Crazy Rich Asians and The Predator, which brought in an estimated $2.06 million and $900K, respectively. The former title now has $169.1 million after eight weeks, while The Predator closed out its final weekend in the Top 10 with a disappointing $49.9 million cume.

Limited Release:

Fox Searchlight opened The Hate U Give on 36 screens and took in an estimated $500K, giving the critically-acclaimed drama a per-screen average of $13,889. The film, which stars Amandla Stenberg as a teenage girl grappling with the death of her best friend at the hands of a police officer, will open wider as we move into the fall.

Robert Redford crime comedy The Old Man & The Gun expanded to 49 screens and brought in an estimated $385K, giving the Fox Searchlight title a total of $575K after two weeks of limited release.

Bleecker Street’s Colette took in an estimated $458K in its expansion to 107 screens, enough for a per-screen average of $4,288 and a total of $1.23 million after three weeks.

Overseas Update:

Venom came out of the gate with an impressive $125.2 million in 58 markets, bringing its global debut total to a sizzling $205.2 million, a record for October. Key markets included South Korea ($15.7 million), Russia ($11.7 million), the U.K. ($9.3 million), and Mexico ($7.1 million). That’s all without China, where the film is slated to open at an as-yet-undetermined future date.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 5 – SUN, OCT. 7

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Venom $80,030,000 4,250 $18,831 $80,030,000 1 Sony / Columbia
2 A Star is Born $41,250,000 3,686 $11,191 $42,600,000 1 Warner Bros.
3 Smallfoot $14,900,000 -35% 4,131 0 $3,607 $42,760,945 2 Warner Bros.
4 Night School $12,280,000 -55% 3,019 9 $4,068 $46,756,355 2 Universal
5 The House With A Clock In Its Walls $7,300,000 -42% 3,463 -129 $2,108 $55,056,560 3 Universal Pictures
6 A Simple Favor $3,435,000 -47% 2,408 -665 $1,426 $49,014,356 4 Lionsgate
7 The Nun $2,610,000 -52% 2,264 -1067 $1,153 $113,367,310 5 Warner Bros.
8 Hell Fest $2,075,000 -60% 2,297 0 $903 $8,864,476 2 Lionsgate / CBS Films
9 Crazy Rich Asians $2,060,000 -50% 1,466 -881 $1,405 $169,134,942 8 Warner Bros.
10 The Predator $900,000 -77% 1,643 -1283 $548 $49,985,889 4 Fox
11 Disney’s Christopher Robin $455,000 34% 1,638 968 $278 $98,122,382 10 Disney

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Colette $458,831 19% 107 69 $4,288 $1,238,591 3 Bleecker Street
2 Peppermint $450,000 -75% 813 -1189 $554 $34,693,394 5 STX Entertainment
3 Searching $445,000 -53% 412 -602 $1,080 $25,651,660 7 Sony Pictures
4 The Wife $403,082 -44% 358 -79 $1,126 $6,809,916 8 Sony Pictures Classics
5 Mission: Impossible – Fallout $300,000 -52% 361 -177 $831 $219,732,429 11 Paramount
6 Incredibles 2 $293,000 8% 244 -94 $1,201 $607,138,087 17 Disney
7 Monsters and Men $177,705 50% 143 125 $1,243 $337,654 2 Neon
8 Little Women (2018) $155,000 -78% 451 -192 $344 $1,153,616 2 Pinnacle Peak
9 Unbroken: Path to Redemption $155,000 -68% 335 -406 $463 $5,986,063 4 Pure Flix
10 Ant-Man and the Wasp $132,000 -50% 178 -80 $742 $216,368,826 14 Disney
11 Shine (2018) $59,073 609 $97 $59,073 1 GVN Releasing
12 Operation Finale $40,786 -68% 111 -101 $367 $17,547,664 6 MGM
13 Life Itself $29,637 -96% 242 -2113 $122 $4,055,061 3 Amazon Studios

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Free Solo $540,000 83% 41 37 $13,171 $954,911 2 National Geographic Entertainment
2 The Hate U Give $500,000 36 $13,889 $500,000 1 20th Century Fox
3 The Old Man & The Gun $385,000 171% 49 44 $7,857 $575,455 2 Fox Searchlight
4 The Sisters Brothers $207,229 -11% 54 31 $3,838 $693,727 3 Annapurna Pictures
5 Science Fair $37,350 36 $1,038 $166,836 4 National Geographic Documentary Films
6 Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. $31,955 -27% 7 5 $4,565 $92,081 2 Abramorama
7 A.X.L. $24,985 -31% 55 -30 $454 $6,491,054 7 Global Road Entertainment
8 Ya Veremos $22,500 -57% 37 -21 $608 $4,151,705 6 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films
9 God Bless the Broken Road $21,866 -40% 53 -58 $413 $2,822,510 5 Freestyle Releasing
10 Lizzie $16,625 -81% 25 -181 $665 $611,947 4 Saban Films / Roadside Attractions
11 Juliet, Naked $16,530 -74% 31 -43 $533 $3,404,117 8 Roadside Attractions / Lionsgate
12 Loving Pablo $16,000 15 $1,067 $16,000 1 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
13 Studio 54 $15,000 1 $15,000 $15,000 1 Zeitgeist Films
14 All About Nina $13,300 -50% 23 19 $578 $48,431 2 The Orchard
15 Assassination Nation $7,752 -96% 15 -1020 $517 $1,941,709 3 Neon
16 Puzzle $7,735 -79% 22 -79 $352 $2,006,028 11 Sony Pictures Classics
17 Bisbee ’17 $7,560 13 $582 $87,888 5 4th Row Films
18 Beautifully Broken $3,238 4% 4 1 $810 $1,201,423 7 ArtAffects Entertainment
19 We The Animals $2,859 -72% 7 -23 $408 $398,238 8 The Orchard

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