‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ dominates global box office with $80m second session; ‘Speak No Evil’ lands with $21m

Worldwide box office September 13-15

Rank	Film (distributor)	3-day (world)	Cume (world)	3-day (int’l)	Cume (int’l)	Territories
1.	Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Warner Bros)	$80.3m	$264.3m	$28.7m	$76.3m	77
2.	Speak No Evil (Universal)	$20.8m	$20.8m	$9.3m	$9.3m	74
3.	Veteran 2: I, The Executioner (CJE&M)	$15m	$15m	$15m	$15m	1
4.	Deadpool & Wolverine (Disney)	$10.9m	$1.3bn	$5.7m	$683.5m	53
5.	Stand By Me (various)	$9.8m	$9.9m	$9.8m	$9.9m	1
6.	It Ends With Us (Sony)	$9.3m	$325.4m	$7.3m	$180.6m	62
7.	Alien: Romulus (Disney)	$8.7m	$330.6m	$6.3m	$229.4m	85
8.	Despicable Me 4 (Universal)	$6.7m	$940m	$5.6m	$580.6m	85
9.	The Greatest Of All Time (various)	$5.9m	$46.7m	$5.5m	$42.6m	17
10.	Am I Racist? (SDG)	$4.7m	$4.7m	-	-	1

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ hits $264m worldwide after 10 days of play

UPDATED: Following a $147.2m worldwide launch a week ago for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a sizeable drop for the second weekend always looked on the cards – given the film’s status as both a horror comedy and a sequel. In that context, estimated second-weekend takings of $80.3m for the Warner Bros release looks pretty robust.

In North America, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice fell 53%, with an estimated $51.6m for the second weekend of play, taking the domestic total to $188.0m. Tim Burton’s film enjoyed better traction for international, declining just 43% there in holdover markets – however, international is also where box office on the title has been weaker.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice grossed a confirmed $28.8m across 76 international territories at the weekend, taking the foreign total to $76.3m. Globally, the film now stands at $264.4m.

UK/Ireland remains the top international market, both for the latest weekend and cumulatively. The territory delivered a confirmed $5.6m at the weekend, taking the total after 10 days to $18.9m.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arrived in France last Wednesday, debuting at the top of the box office on $4.7m for the five-day opening period, and achieving a 47% market share of the top five films. The film also landed in Germany, opening at the top spot on $2.2m and a 32% share of the top five films.

Among holdover markets, UK/Ireland leads ahead of Mexico ($11.0m so far), Spain ($5.2m), Australia ($4.8m) and Italy ($3.5m).

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is giving the global theatrical market a boost at a time of year when blockbuster hits can often be in short supply. Last September, The Nun II topped the worldwide box office for three weeks in a row, on its way to a $269.5m total. Two years ago, the top titles in mid-September were The Woman King and Ticket To Paradise – mid-level successes that respectively achieved $97.6m and $168.8m at the worldwide box office.

‘Speak No Evil’ scares up $21m debut

UPDATED: Universal’s release of Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil has begun with a solid estimated opening of $20.9m worldwide. That number divides into an estimated $11.4m for North America and $9.5m for 72 international markets.

The family-in-peril psychological horror/thriller is a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name, which was directed by Christian Tafdrup, from a script he co-wrote with his brother Mads Tafdrup. The new version, with a different ending likely to provide broader commercial appeal, is written and directed by UK filmmaker James Watkins (Eden Lake). James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis lead the cast.

Among international markets, UK/Ireland leads on Speak No Evil with an estimated $1.9m including $300,000 for previews last Thursday (September 12), and Scotland performing strongly thanks to McAvoy’s starring role. Mexico and Spain come next, respectively with an estimated $828,000 and $757,000. Then come Italy ($538,000) and Australia ($498,000).

The film is over-indexing in the Middle East, with UAE delivering an estimated $369,000, and Saudia Arabia $308,000 – respectively the sixth and seventh biggest international markets so far. Brazil earned $319,000 and China $245,000.

Speak No Evil has yet to arrive in three key markets: France, Germany and Japan. The film reaches those two major European territories this coming week, while the Japan launch is set for December 13.

With a production budget reported at $15m, Speak No Evil looks on course to yield profits for its stakeholders, even with marketing spend and revenue splits with cinemas taken into consideration. Given a B+ CinemaScore, Universal will be hoping for decent audience traction. 

‘Veteran 2’ delivers strong $15m opening in South Korea

A film playing in just one market – South Korea – has landed in third place at the worldwide box office, with estimated takings of $15.1m. That film is crime action thriller I, The Executioner, aka Veteran 2, sequel to 2015 hit Veteran, which grossed $78.4m lifetime in its home market.

Veteran director Ryoo Seung-wan returns for the sequel, reuniting with lead actor Hwang Jung-min. Hwang stars as a detective who leads a team in the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit, who are tracking a serial killer. The film premiered in Midnight Screenings at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Veteran 2 was launched in South Korea to coincide with the Chuseok (harvest festival) holiday, which runs Saturday to Wednesday (September 14-18). The $15.1m opening is the second-biggest for any film so far this year in South Korea, behind The Roundup: Punishment ($20.7m debut and $79.9m lifetime).

Veteran 2 is one of three Asian films in the latest worldwide top 10 chart. It’s joined – in fifth place – by Chinese title Stand By Me (aka Ye Hai Zi), which stars boy band member Karry Wang in a drama about two orphaned or abandoned boys.

Indian sci-fi-flavoured action thriller The Greatest Of All Time appears in ninth place in the latest chart, having launched a week earlier. The Tamil-language film stars Vijay in a dual role, and is directed by Venkjat Pabhu. Global box office is $46.8m to date.

The worldwide top 10 is rounded out by US mockumentary Am I Racist?, from SDG Releasing. Justin Folk’s film stars conservative commentator, podcaster and author Matt Walsh who goes undercover as a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) trainee.

• ‘The Life Of Chuck’ is surprise winner of TIFF People’s Choice Award – but who’s buying it?