Five Nights at Freddy’s, The Eras Tour had the “slowest” weekend at the box office; All eyes on The Marvels to boost business

The North American box office had one of its slowest weekends of the year, due in large part to “Dune: Part Two’s” absence from the lineup.
Moviegoers had many other options to choose from. “Video Game Adaptation”Five nights at freddy’s“He repeated his ranking in first place, followed by”Taylor Swift: Tour for the Ages“Still going strong. Sofia Coppola”Priscilla “Expanded nationwide and”Oppenheimer” returned to IMAX screens. Several well-received independent films also opened.
But this was the weekend that Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two” was supposed to open. and Legendary, before the SAG-AFTRA strike prompted many studios to shift release dates in anticipation of a drawn-out dispute preventing movie stars from promoting their films. . The “Dune” sequel starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya has been pushed back to March 2024, and no major film has moved to take its spot on November 3. Even with “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” continuing to bring Swifties to movie theaters, and prestige shows including Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers,” total ticket sales will likely reach around 64 Million dollars for the movie. weekend, making it one of the slowest weekends.
“It’s hard to reverse engineer, but.”Sand dunes 2“It would have been a No. 1 movie and would have had a bigger weekend overall,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “The strikes had a profound impact on this market. But that left a lot of opportunities for films like ‘Priscilla,’ ‘The Holdovers,’ and ‘Radical’ to get more limelight.”
In its second weekend, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” earned an additional $19.4 million to take first place, according to studio estimates Sunday. That’s a massive 76% drop from the first weekend. This isn’t unexpected given that the film is also streaming on Peacock and viewership for movies targeting heavy, niche audiences is often front-loaded. But earning $217 million worldwide against a $20 million production budget made it a huge hit for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” ranked second, earning an estimated $13.5 million in its fourth weekend for the AMC release. Only released from Thursday to Sunday, the film has grossed an impressive $231.1 million worldwide so far.
In third place, “Killers of the Flower Moon” fell just 25% in its third weekend, earning $7 million from 3,786 screens, bringing its domestic total to $52.3 million. The $200 million film was financed by Apple Original Films with Paramount overseeing its theatrical release.

After a good opening in New York and Los Angeles last weekend, “Priscilla,” based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me,” expands to 1,359 screens where it grossed $5.1 million over the weekend to take fourth place. Coppola’s well-reviewed film starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi attracted an audience that was mostly younger (75% under 35) and female (65%). The hope is that A24’s version will have a long life into awards season.
“The Holdovers,” a Focus Features release, also expanded slightly to 64 theaters this weekend, where it grossed an additional $600,000. Next weekend, the New England-set drama starring Paul Giamatti as a curmudgeonly middle school teacher will expand to more than 800 locations.
A host of smaller films debuted in theaters this weekend, including Meg Ryan’s What Happens Later, released by Bleecker Street; and the Sundance gems “Radical” and “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.”
The bulk of that installment was “Radical,” inspired by a true story about a teacher in a Mexican border town and star Eugenio Derbez. The warmly reviewed Pantelion release opened in 419 locations and grossed $2.7 million.
“‘Radical’ is a big winner this weekend and it’s a big win for Eugenio Derbez,” Dergarabedian said. “He has become an international star.”
“What Happens Later,” a romantic comedy starring Ryan and David Duchovny as two lovers stuck at the airport, grossed $1.6 million from 1,492 screens. Meanwhile, Raven Jackson’s “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt” opened on three screens and grossed $12,529, according to A24.
“The box office in general is pretty quiet, but there are a lot of interesting films,” Dergarabedian said. “Independent film can really shine now.”
The effects of the ongoing box office strike cannot be easily measured. Up to this point, this essentially means that stars without temporary agreements will not be able to promote their films. Priscilla was one of the exceptions, and Elordi and Spaeny were able to give interviews and appear on talk shows to raise awareness.
Next weekend will be an interesting test, as Marvel and Disney will release The Marvels without months of appearances from stars like Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Lashana Lynch. It is possible that a resolution will be reached between the actors union and major entertainment companies this week, but it is unclear whether this will have any impact on “Wonders“.
“All eyes will be on The Marvels, not just what he represents during the hits, but what he means to Marvel as a whole, which is always compared to their past successes,” Dergarabedian said. “But opening weekend isn’t everything. We hope it provides a mix of that blockbuster feeling as we head into the holiday season.”
Estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final local figures will be published on Monday.
1. “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” $19.4 million.
2. “Taylor Swift: Tour for the Ages,” $13.5 million.
3. “Moonflower Killers” $7 million.
4- “Priscilla” $5.1 million.
5- “Radical” movie, $2.7 million.
6. “The Exorcist: The Believer,” $2.2 million.
7. “After Death,” $2 million.
8. “Paw Patrol: The Great Movie,” $2 million.
9- “What Happens Next” movie, $1.6 million.
10. “The Independent” $1.3 million.