‘Avatar’ Re-Release Wows With $30 Million at Global Box Office

Independent projections predicted a $50 million opening weekend for the Universal and Blumhouse picture, on par with that of “Halloween Kills.” The 2021 sequel scored $4.9 million at its Thursday box office debut. In 2018, “Halloween” made $7.7 million on its first night and went on to earn an eye-popping $77.5 million from its opening weekend – the second highest of any rated-R horror movie at the time.Set four years after the events of “Halloween Kills,” “Halloween Ends” presents the last showdown between Laurie Strode (Curtis) and longtime nemesis Michael Myers.

Jordan Moreau “Halloween Ends” is just beginning — the final installment in the long-lived horror franchise picked up $5.4 million at the box office in Thursday night previews. The film should hack and slash its way to $50 million to $55 million in its opening weekend, according to projections, even with a same-day release on Peacock. Last year’s “Halloween Kills” opened to $49 million at the box office and had the same Peacock release strategy, so an even bigger launch would be bloody good for the Universal film. Jamie Lee Curtis’ PTSD-riddled survivor Laurie Strode faces off against psycho killer Michael Myers once again for the 13th entry in the franchise, and “Halloween Ends” promises to be the very last showdown between the two foes — at least, until another reboot comes knocking at the door. The “Halloween” timeline is as full of holes as one of Michael’s victims, but the latest movie caps off a trilogy of modern-day sequels that began with 2018’s “Halloween” and its 2021 sequel “Halloween Kills.” The three movies follow the events of John Carpenter’s original 1978 horror, which introduced audiences to Curtis in her film debut and the soon-to-be slasher icon Michael Myers. There have been a handful of other “Halloween” sequels and two rebooted films directed by Rob Zombie, but the new trilogy retcons those and catches up with Laurie and her family 40 years later.

Paramount’s Parker Finn-directed horror pic Smile has laughed its way across the $100M mark globally. And it did so in under two weeks of release. Through Tuesday, the gross is $102.3M worldwide, made up of $55.5M domestic and $46.8M from the international box office. 

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Laurie Strode is going out with a bang. “Halloween Ends,” the supposed finale to Universal’s long-running slasher series (are we ever going to be able to quit Michael Myers?) is targeting a healthy $50 million to $55 million in its opening weekend even with its hybrid release on Peacock. If those estimates hold, it’ll be the first movie since “Thor: Love and Thunder” in July to open to at least $50 million. “Halloween Ends” is the rare day-and-date release with a proper point of comparison since its predecessor also launched on streaming during the pandemic. “Halloween Kills” opened to $49 million last October while landing simultaneously on the NBCUniversal-owned Peacock — a bloody-good result given the COVID-era limitations in 2021. “Halloween Ends,” which is playing in 3,800 North American theaters, has the added benefit of monopolizing the entire Imax and premium large format footprint.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Comedy action film “Confidential Assignment 2: International” claimed its fifth successive weekend victory at the South Korean box office as only U.S. horror film “Smile” was able to break into the top five.The CJ Entertainment-distributed “Confidential Assignment 2” managed $1.64 million over the Friday to Sunday period, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). That represented a 27% share of the market. “Confidential Assignment 2” recorded a 27% weekend on weekend decline. That pushed its cumulative total to $47 million, earned form $6.52 million ticket sales since release on Set. 7, 2022.

Paramount’s Smile is positively grinning ear-to-ear as the horror pic from director Parker Finn saw a wild 19% upswing in holdovers at the international box office in its second frame. The weekend gross was $17.5M in 61 markets for a $40M offshore cume and $89.9M global to date.

Universal/Working Title’s Ticket to Paradise, the latest big-screen collaboration for Julia Roberts and George Clooney, has led the duo to a new milestone. Five films in which the mega-stars worked together have now grossed a combined $1B at the global box office. 

EXCLUSIVE: One of the most honored documentaries of the year is heading to the very big screen.

Universal Pictures Wins Big At 2022 BASE AwardsThe British Association for Screen Entertainment hosted the 42nd annual BASE Awards at Camden’s Roundhouse Thursday night and Universal Pictures led the winner’s list, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Innovation for Streaming ‘Live’ to Your Living Room: Stand-Up Comedy with Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran, and Best in Class Packaging for Inglourious Basterds: Total Basterds Edition. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery followed close behind with four awards each. Sony Pictures Entertainment took home Campaign of the Year for New Release Film – Over 15m Box Office for Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Warner Bros. Discovery won Home Entertainment Campaign of the Year – TV for Game of Thrones: The Iron Anniversary.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have two new portraits all their own. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posed for a dramatic photo of themselves holding hands and looking regal ahead of the One Young World Summit in Manchester, England, which they attended just days before the Sept.

It was a varied offering at the international box office this weekend with newcomers from Hollywood and offshore markets, as well as notable holds, as we inch closer to full-on action later in October. 

“Smile,” which was projected for an opening in the high teens against its $17 million production budget, actually saw a slight 4% increase in grosses from Friday to Saturday, beating industry estimates which had predicted a slight decrease after the film earned audience scores of B- on CinemaScore and a 69% positive rating on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak. While those scores could signal a more frontloaded box office run, the word-of-mouth among hardcore horror fans still seems to be running pretty strong and giving “Smile” a chance to match the $23.6 million opening of Universal/Blumhouse’s “The Black Phone” from earlier this year if Sunday numbers also beat projections.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Paramount’s “Smile” debuted to a sizzling $22 million, easily topping the domestic box office. The horror film beat out the weekend’s other new wide release, Universal’s LGBTQ romantic comedy “Bros,” which landed in fourth with a paltry $4.8 million debut. “Smile” ranks as one of the better original horror debuts of the year, beating out 20th Century Studios’ “Barbarian” ($10 million) and Sony’s “The Invitation” ($7 million). As the box office enters October, the horror genre will continue to take center stage with Universal’s “Halloween Ends” releasing in two weeks and hoping to cash in on the excitement for thrills and chills. The box office result for “Smile” is a frighteningly good haul, seeing as it cost Paramount a measly $17 million to produce. The company used some clever marketing tactics this week by strategically placing paid actors, with huge, creepy smiles plastered on their faces, behind home plate during televised Major League Baseball games. Social media users quickly noticed the unsettling fans, who wore “Smile” t-shirts, when the cameras zoomed in on batters stepping up to the plate.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Hold onto your bucket hats: Sony’s action-thriller “Bullet Train” crossed $100 million at the domestic box office. It’s an impressive milestone (in post-COVID times) for an original movie that doesn’t involve marquee comic book heroes or intergalactic adventures. It helps, of course, that a bankable actor like Brad Pitt stars in the film, as a heavily therapized assassin named Ladybug. “Bullet Train” reached $101 million in domestic ticket sales on Friday, making it only the 14th release this year to hit that benchmark. With another $130 million at the international box office, the film has now earned $231 million in global ticket sales to date.

J. Kim Murphy “Smile” has something grin about this weekend. The creeper is projected to land a $19 million debut from 3,645 locations. It’s a fantastic start for the genre film, which carries a modest $17 million production budget. Compared to other original horror entries this year, Universal’s supernatural kidnap thriller “The Black Phone” kicked off with $23 million while 20th Century Studios’ “Barbarian” opened to $10 million. “Smile” landed a mildly positive “B-” grade through research firm Cinema Score, though such a figure is standard for a horror release. The film has drawn good buzz with solid reviews, scoring a 79% from top critics on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Variety‘s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the film in his review, writing that it “sets up nearly everything — its highly effective creep factor, its well-executed if familiar shock tactics, its interlaced theme of trauma and suicide — before the opening credits.”

“Smile” is opening on the upper end of pre-release independent projections with $8.2 million earned on Friday from 3,645 locations and an estimated $19 million opening, which would be the third straight weekend that a No. 1 film has earned that amount.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter There are plenty of valid reasons to be skeptical about “Avatar: The Way of Water.” It’s been more than a decade since James Cameron’s otherworldly sci-fi epic “Avatar” opened in theaters in 2009, smashing expectations on its way to becoming the biggest movie in history with $2.85 billion in global ticket sales. But times, tastes and box office expectations have changed drastically since moviegoers first made contact with the Na’vi. In the ensuing years, theater owners have developed a greater reliance on big-budget comic book spectacles, and 3D technology (despite Cameron’s best efforts) failed to take off in the way the filmmaker had hoped. Especially since the pandemic, billion-dollar hits outside of the superhero space have been few and far between.

Refresh for latest…: There was extra oomph at the international box office this weekend as Disney’s rerelease of 20th Century Studios’ Avatar grossed $20.5M from 50 offshore markets for a $30.5M global launch. The remastered 4K HDR version of the biggest movie ever was catnip to fans with No. 1s in several markets and, as designed, sets the table for James Cameron’s upcoming sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The run-up to the release of “Don’t Worry Darling” has been filled with tabloid headlines about the filming of the movie, most notably over an alleged feud between Pugh and director Olivia Wilde. Meanwhile, critics have mostly panned the film with a 38% Rotten Tomatoes score.