Anime dominated the box office once again this weekend, setting the stage for an exciting November ahead. With a quiet Halloween opening day, audiences had the option to choose from various films, including a Colleen Hoover adaptation, a rock biopic, and a live-action adaptation of an online found footage series. However, it was the much-anticipated “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” that ultimately caught the audience’s attention.
“Chainsaw Man” topped the weekend charts, amassing an impressive $17.2 million. As a sequel to the popular anime series, it achieved a stronger opening than any 2023 releases from Crunchyroll or Funimation. Notably, it nearly matched the openings of this year’s “Demon Slayer” and past hits like “Mugen Train” and “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” both of which opened significantly higher.
Following “Chainsaw Man,” “Black Phone 2” slipped from first to second place with $13 million, marking a 52% decrease from its previous weekend. Its current 10-day total stands at $49 million, which surpasses the earnings of the original film. While it’s projected to finish with $70-80 million domestically, it holds promise for hitting over $100 million globally.
In third place, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “Regretting You” debuted with $12.8 million. The film, produced on a modest budget of $30 million, falls short compared to Hoover’s earlier adaptations but is still positioned to perform well in the coming weeks.
The rock biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” opened to $9.1 million, a disappointment when compared to the success of other music biopics in the past two decades. In stark contrast, the horror film “Good Fortune” struggled to connect with audiences, earning just $3.1 million in its second weekend, bringing its total to $11.7 million.
On the indie front, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Bugonia” featuring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, made a notable debut with $690,000 across 17 theaters. This marked the best limited opening for Lanthimos, showing his continued appeal in the film industry.
The Halloween weekend is poised to reverberate with excitement as Universal prepares to re-release the classic “Back to the Future” to celebrate its 40th anniversary. With no major releases from other studios, it remains to be seen whether this beloved film can reclaim the top spot at the box office, just as it did in its original run.
Overall, the weekend showcased the resilience of the film industry as it transitions into the bustling holiday season, with anime continuing to capture audiences’ imaginations. As industries adapt to shifting viewer preferences, the future looks bright for diverse storytelling across genres.