Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Speak No Evil are topping the domestic box office in a record-breaking weekend. Speak No Evil is a remake of the 2022 Danish thriller of the same name and the newest movie teaming Blumhouse with Split star James McAvoy. In its opening weekend, it went into competition with the second weekend of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice box office, which kicked off with a $111 million debut that was not only the third-best domestic opening of the year but outgrossed the entire worldwide run of the original 1988 movie within just three days.
Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is projected to top the domestic box office once more in its second weekend with a 3-day gross of $50 million. This strong week-on-week haul is helping the second weekend of September push its total earnings past $100 million for the first time since 2019, marking a first since the COVID-19 pandemic depressed box office earnings in 2020. Meanwhile, Speak No Evil is projected to take No. 2 with a debut of $12.3 million, becoming the highest-grossing new release of the weekend.
What This Box Office Weekend Means For Speak No Evil And Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Speak No Evil Is Doing Well Despite A No. 2 Debut
It is perhaps inevitable that the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice release was going to top the chart again after its record-breaking debut. It has dropped about 54% from its opening weekend, which is a commendable result for a title in the horror genre, even if the comedy legacy sequel can only be tangentially considered horror. However, even if it had dropped 60% or more, which is typical for horror, its $111 million starting point would have left it at a strong place during its second weekend no matter what.
[Speak No Evil] is already well on its way toward earning back its production costs.
Thus, while the Speak No Evil release did not open at No. 1, this does not necessarily mean it is suffering in any way. While the movie is technically a remake, it is not attached to an IP that has remotely the same amount of nostalgic audience attachment as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It also comes with a much smaller budget of $15 million compared to the Tim Burton movie’s $100 million, meaning that it is already well on its way toward earning back its production costs.
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice And Speak No Evil Are Kicking Off The Halloween Season
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Speak No Evil topping the chart simultaneously could also indicate that a strong Halloween season is ahead at the domestic box office. Horror and horror-tinged genre releases are scattered across the schedule through the end of October, so the genre could be entering an especially fertile period where the chart is continuously buoyed by new release horror. These titles include the upcoming Smile 2, Terrifier 3, Never Let Go, and the darker comic book efforts Venom: The Last Dance and Joker: Folie à Deux.
Source: Deadline
