‘A Haunting in Venice’ Scares Up Top Spot at U.K., Ireland Box Office

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Exorcist: Believer” looks to easily claim the No. 1 spot in its box office debut, but that almost wasn’t the case.

Naman Ramachandran Disney sci-fi epic “The Creator” and Lionsgate U.K.’s horror franchise entry “Saw X” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office — and the race was almost too close to call. “Saw X” won the three-day total with £1.92 million ($2.31 million), while “The Creator” was just behind with £1.89 million ($2.27 million).

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s Agatha Christie adaptation “A Haunting in Venice” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second successive weekend with £1.4 million ($1.8 million), per numbers from Comscore. The film, directed by Kenneth Branagh, where he plays detective Hercule Poirot, now has a total of £4.9 million after two weekends in release.

While a fairly quiet frame overall, there were some significant milestones this international box office session. To wit: New Line/Warner Bros’ The Nun II topped the $200M mark worldwide and Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan became the highest-grossing Bollywood movie ever in India, overtaking the star’s earlier 2023 movie, Pathaan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Locally-made fantasy drama “Sleep” headed the Korean box office charts for the third successive weekend. But theaters were comatose ahead of bigger new releases timed for the Chuseok holiday season. “Sleep” earned just $1.06 million between Friday and Sunday, with a 27.5% market share, according to data from Kobis the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. Its cumulative after 19 days in cinemas now stands at $9.50 million. The film’s three weekends at the top of the chart have coincided with low power competition and a month-long decline in cinema attendance.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Expendables 4,” an action-thriller starring Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham, misfired in its box office debut, tumbling to a franchise-low $8.3 million. It landed in ever-so-slightly second place behind “The Nun II,” which collected $8.4 million in its third weekend. It’s possible the order could flip by the time the final tally is revealed on Monday.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Expend4bles,” the fourth action-thriller starring Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone as elite mercenaries on a mission, is expected to top the box office in its debut. It’s aiming for $15 million in its opening weekend, which would be the lowest of the franchise. There’s a chance, though, it could slightly exceed expectations with $17 million.

Naman Ramachandran Shah Rukh Khan blockbuster “Jawan” has crossed the $100 million box office milestone. The film has now grossed $103 million worldwide, according to numbers released by producers Red Chillies Entertainment. In India, the film has grossed $68.5 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Expendables 4’ narrowly took top place at the mainland China box office on a quiet weekend preceding the National Day holiday season at the end of the month. “A Haunting in Venice” opened outside the top five. Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway shows “Expendables 4” earning $10.9 million (RMB78.6 million) over its debut weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Hollywood new releases, “A Haunting in Venice” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem” failed to make much of an impression on the South Korean box office in their opening weekend. Instead, local fantasy drama “Sleep” headed the chart for a second time. “Sleep” earned $2.38 million in its second weekend, a creditably modest 20% weekend-on-weekend decline, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/New Line’s The Nun II continued to conjure strong business around the globe this weekend, taking the top spot again worldwide and overseas. The sophomore session of $30.1M in 72 offshore markets brings the international box office cume to $102.3M and worldwide to $158.8M so far.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter It’s another close race at the box office. The Warner Bros. thriller “The Nun II” is projected to ever-so-slightly outpace the competition with $14.7 million in its second weekend.

J. Kim Murphy Hercule Poirot is back on the case this weekend, with Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice” hoping to best a very quiet box office in its opening. The horror-tinged whodunnit scored$5.5 million from 3,305 theaters on its opening day, a figure that includes $1.2 million in Thursday previews.

In its latest milestone, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has passed the $900M mark worldwide. The estimated total through Friday is $903M, including $586M from the international box office. With Saturday and Sunday numbers, that global cume is projected to reach $912M. This will make it the highest grossing biopic ever at the global box office, ahead of Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Jordan Moreau Kenneth Branagh is suiting up as Detective Hercule Poirot once again, with the actor-director’s latest movie, “A Haunting in Venice,” opening in theaters this weekend. The 20th Century Studios movie made $1.2 million in Thursday previews at the box office. The supernatural whodunnit is expected to open between $13 million and $15 million, which would land it between the franchise’s previous two entries, “Murder on the Orient Express” from 2017 and last year’s “Death on the Nile.” All three movies are based on Agatha Christie’s murder mystery novels, with the first “Murder on the Orient Express” standing as the most successful with a $28.6 million opening.

20th Century Studios’ Kenneth Branagh starring and directed, A Haunting in Venice, has scared up $1.2M in previews. The weekend outlook for the feature take of the Agatha Christie novel Hallowe’en is $12M+, similar to what Branagh’s feature take on the author’s Death on the Nile did back in 2022 in its first weekend, $12.8M.

There are new projections on the horizon for Disney’s “A Haunting in Venice”.

Disney has kept Kenneth Branagh’s 20th Century Studios Hercule Poirot franchise going following its inception at Fox with 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, but recent installments have yet to reach that first pic’s box office heights.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “A Haunting in Venice,” Kenneth Branagh’s latest cinematic take on Agatha Christie’s library of murder mystery novels, is expected to spook the box office competition. It’s targeting a soft $13 million to $15 million in its North American debut. Those ticket sales will likely be enough to claim the No.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “The Nun II” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £1.7 million ($2.1 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. Yash Raj Films release “Jawan,” headlined by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, bowed in second place with a strong £1.3 million.