Friday Box Office: ‘Brahmāstra’ Plunges 83%, But ‘Barbarian’ Holds Firm

Forbes

Scott Mendelson

In holdover news for films that aren't Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms and The Woman King at the domestic box office, Barbarian earned another $1.963 million on Friday, dropping just 49% from its opening day. We’re looking at a $6.2 million (-41%) second weekend, an excellent hold for a small-scale, star-free, original grindhouse horror flick. In this case, yes, the online buzz seemingly translated into (or at least represented) real-world interest, as the under-$5 million shocker will have around $21 million by tomorrow.

Even with Smile (September 30) and Halloween Ends (October 14) lurking in the shadows (heck, Terrifier 2 may make some noise on October 6), we may see a multiplier on par with The Boy and Don’t Breathe. That would give this flick a solid $35 million domestic total. This is a genuine, old-school win for ‘don’t spoil the movie’ marketing.

MGM's Hailey earned $1.6 million (-43.9%) on Friday, with an expected $5.5 million (-41%) weekend and a $378.8 million domestic cume. The film is playing like an old-school Pixar film in the terms of legs as it's holding it's own against the monstrous opening of Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms this weekend. If the film keeps on holding like this, a $400 million domestic cume is possible and the film could rival and possibly beat the current holder of the highest grossing film released in August which is Daniel's Big Return with it's $405.3 million domestic cume as Hailey already beat it's international cume to become the highest grossing August release overseas. With holds like this, this past week could be the last time that the film grosses $1 million on a daily basis.

Sony's sleeper hit Stella: An Angry Birds Movie earned $1 million (-33.4%) on Friday and putting forth an expected $3.6 million (-52%) weekend and a $143.2 million domestic cume at the end of the weekend. The film is starting to slow down at the box office.

Another one of Sony's own, Bullet Train earned another $700,000 (-21%) on Friday, setting the stage for a $2.6 million (-21%) weekend and $96 million domestic cume. Maybe it’s old-school legs, or perhaps it’s being double-billed at drive-ins with The Woman King. This hold for the Brad Pitt actioner may be enough to push it past $100 million domestic over the next few weeks.

Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick earned $630,000 (-25%) on its 113th day of domestic release. We can expect a $2.3 million (-26%) weekend and a new $709 million domestic total. Pete Mitchell wept, for there were no more mountains to conquer, but at least Ethan Hunt can get back to sheep-herding. Sony’s The Invitation, which dropped on PVOD in rated and unrated versions, earned $480,000 (-33%) for a $1.7 million (-35%) weekend and $21.5 million 24-day domestic total.

Warner Bros.’ DC League of Super Pets earned $440,000 (-11%) on Friday for a $2.37 million (-11%) weekend and $88.055 million domestic cume. Over the next week, it will pass Where the Crawdads Sing ($88.9 million by tomorrow) and The Black Phone ($90 million thus far) to crack this summer’s top ten among domestic earners.

Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva crashed on Friday, dropping 83% with $319,000. We can expect a $1.1 million (-76%) weekend and a $6.8 million ten-day total for the $51 million Bollywood fantasy. We’ll hopefully see how it’s playing worldwide tomorrow. The Astroverse wanted to be the next MCU, but it may be the next Dark Universe. Fathom Events’ Lifemark also crashed on Friday, earning around $230,000 (-74%) for a likely $770,000 (-65%) second-weekend gross for a $4.375 million ten-day cume.

Meanwhile, Nope will earn $460,000 (-45%) for a $122.8 million cume as Thor: Love and Thunder will end with the weekend over/under $343 million. Likewise, Minions: The Rise of Gru will pass $364 million as Jurassic World Dominion sits at $375 million. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero sits at $37.5 million. Spider-Man: No Way Home will drop another 83% for a $232,000 weekend to bring its cume near $814 million, while Jaws will earn $212,000 (-67%) for a new $272.16 million lifetime total.

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