‘Smile 2’ Opens on Top, ‘We Live in Time’ Hits Top Five

The box office is ear-to-ear for “Smile 2,” with Paramount’s horror entry landing $9.4 million from 3,619 domestic locations across Friday and preview screenings. That’s above the $8.2 million opening day that the first “Smile” earned in 2022 — a successful kick-off for this sequel, which carries a $28 million production budget.

With Halloween season still abound, “Smile 2” is well-positioned to turn a profit as it plays in the weeks ahead. The question remains of how well it can emulate the staying power of its predecessor. The first “Smile” was initially slated for a streaming release, but was shifted to a full theatrical rollout after strong test screenings. With the help of some viral marketing, the inexpensive, toothy thriller scored a $22 million opening weekend — already a fantastic start — and then dropped only 18% in its second weekend on its way to a $105 million domestic finish and a stellar 4.68 multiplier.

Writer-director Parker Finn‘s feel-bad breakout remains one of the feel-good theatrical success stories of the past few years, especially in the horror genre. Paramount announced a sequel in the following months and now, two years later, it’s smiles again at the top of the box office. And while a 4.68 multiplier would be difficult to repeat, “Smile 2” has a strong enough response to support sustained play. The film scored well with critics, with reviews highlighting Naomi Scott‘s lead performance and the story’s scale-up into the high-pressure world of pop stardom. Early audiences turned in a “B” grade to research firm CinemaScore — solid for a horror film, which tend to score lower than other genres, and also up from the “B-” that the first “Smile” earned.

Expanding this weekend to 955 theaters after a limited opening in New York and Los Angeles, A24’s tearjerker “We Live in Time,” starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, looks to land in the top five of domestic charts after earning roughly $1.8 million on Friday. The John Crowley-directed feature landed well at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere and has continued to gather positive reviews in the weeks since.

Universal’s “The Wild Robot” is still whirring its gears, holding onto second place in its fourth weekend of release. The DreamWorks Animation feature is expected to cross the $100 million domestic mark through Sunday, which would make it the 16th release of the year to notch that milestone.

Meanwhile, last weekend’s box office champion “Terrifier 3” is sliding into third place in its sophomore outing, though its somewhat sharp drop should be expected for a franchise film that packed in fans on opening weekend. Cineverse’s horror sequel added an estimated $2.9 million on Friday and is looking to push its domestic total ahead of $30 million on Saturday. It’s been a triumphant run for the unrated, ultra-gory independent feature.

And “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” continues to maintain a slot in the top five, even in its seventh weekend of release. After earning $1.4 million on Friday, Tim Burton’s comedy sequel is about to pass up “Dune: Part Two” ($282 million) to become the fourth-highest-grossing domestic release of 2024, behind only “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4.” It’s a land of contrasts for Warner Bros., which also has “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which suffered a decimating 81% plummet in its sophomore outing and has now, in its third weekend of release, unceremoniously exited the domestic top five.

In limited release, Neon has kicked off its rollout of Sean Baker’s screwball festival favorite “Anora” with a six-theater release across New York and Los Angeles. Rivals estimate that the Palme d’Or winner scored $310,000 on Friday, beginning what the indie distributor hopes will be a long run through awards season.