After a surprisingly crafty publicity campaign, Paramount’s horror flick Smile enjoyed a strong debut weekend, earning $22M from 3,645 theaters, per Deadline. That, of course, was enough for the the pic to take the top spot at the domestic box office, proving once again that a clever horror concept will bring the crowds every time.
On the opposite end of the box office spectrum, the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Bros tripped out of the gate with just $4.8M. Starring Billy Eichner and Nick Stoller, the film will have to hope word of mouth will propel the gay romantic comedy to bigger numbers in the weeks ahead.
Last week’s champ, Don’t Worry Darling, meanwhile, dipped 62% in its second frame and brought in $7.3M. In total, Olivia Wilde’s steamy thriller has amassed $32.8M domestically and $54.7M worldwide.
The Woman King came in at No. 3 with $7M (-36%), while James Cameron’s re-release of Avatar landed at No. 5 with another $4.69M (-62%) to bring its reissue total to $18.5M domestically, $58M worldwide.
The only other notable news is Everything Everywhere All at Once crossing $103M worldwide, easily becoming A24’s highest-grossing pic to date (the previous holder was 2018’s Hereditary with $80M).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10
1.) Smile (Par) 3,645 theaters, Fri $8.2M, Sat $8.6M, Sun $5.15M, 3-day $22M/Wk 1
2.) Don’t Worry Darling (NL/WB), 4,121 (+8) theaters, Fri $2.35M (-75%), Sat $2.9M, Sun $2M, 3-day $7.3M (-62%)/Total $32.8M/ Wk 2
3.) The Woman King (Sony) 3,504 (-261) theaters Fri $1.75M (-41%), Sat $3.1M, Sun $2.1M, 3-day $7M (-36%)/Total $46.7M/Wk 3
4.) Bros (Uni) 3,350 theaters, Fri $1.84M, Sat $1.74M, Sun $1.22M 3-day $4.8M, Wk 1
5.)Avatar (re) (20th/Dis) 1,860 theaters, Fri $1.16M (-65%), Sat $2.2M, Sun $1.3M, 3-day $4.696M (-62%), Total $779.09M (re-issue running total through ten days is $18.5M)/Wk 2 of re-issue
6.) Ponniyan Selvan: Part One (Sar) 500 locations, Fri $2.1M, Sat $1.1M, Sun $818K, 3-day $4.1M/Wk 1
7.) Barbarian (20th/Dis) 2,720 theaters (-145), Fri $809K (-42%), Sat $1.25M, Sun $754K, 3-day $2.8M (-42%)/Total $33.1M/Wk 4
8.) Bullet Train (Sony) 1,931 (+24) theaters, Fri $370K, Sat $630K, Sun $400K, 3-day $1.4M (-23%)/, Total $101.3M/Wk 9
9.) DC League of Super-Pets (WB) 1,924 (-427) theaters, Fri $250K (-31%), Sat $620K, Sun $435K, 3-day $1.3M (-25%)/Total $91.7M Wk 10
10.) Top Gun: Maverick (Par) 1,561 (-464) theaters, Fri $335K (-27%), Sat $575K, Sun $320K 3-day $1.23M (-24%), Total $713.4M/Wk 19