Box Office: ‘Smile’ Gets Biggest Laugh With $20M Debut As ‘Bros’ Flops

1. Smile (review)– $22M

It’s another well-reviewed, modestly-sized hit film for Paramount as Smile opens with a strong $22M. The horror film, which echoes other similar films such as It Follows and The Grudge, features no big names (Sosie Bacon isn’t a draw yet) and no connection to a larger franchise, but has gotten by on strong buzz from genre fans. They’ll have something else to indulge in when Halloween Ends arrives later this month, but I imagine that one’s really only for completists.

2. Don’t Worry Darling– $7.3M/$32.8M

Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling fell a crushing 62% from last week, for $7M domestic and $54M worldwide. That’s not bad, but that drop hurts. It’s likely that a lot of audiences went in last week just out of curiosity following months of tabloid headlines, which is weird because did they expect to see that stuff play out on the big screen?

3. The Woman King– $6.9M/$46.7M

4. Bros (review)– $4.8M

Unsurprisingly, Billy Eichner’s romantic comedy Bros opened to just $4.8M. I’ve seen a lot of people expressing their disappointment over this, with even Eichner coming out and claiming that heterosexuals didn’t show up for it. Well, at this number NOBODY showed up for it. Sorry to break that to ya. The film is historic in that it’s the first major studio wide release rom-com to feature a gay couple, with Eichner writing and starring. But is the movie any good? While the reviews vouch for it, I would say the promos have been pretty crap. It didn’t look funny at all.

5. Avatar (re-release)- $4.6M/$18.5M

Stop telling me nobody cares about Avatar. Clearly, people are excited about the upcoming sequels, and you know what? So am I.

6. Ponniyin Selvan– $4M

7. Barbarian– $2.8M/$33.1M

8. Bullet Train– $1.4M/$101.3M

9. DC League of Super-Pets– $1.3M/$91.6M

10. Top Gun: Maverick– $1.2M/$713.4M

 

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.