LOS ANGELES -- It has been a great season for horror, with Blumhouse's Happy Death Day becoming the latest such film to top the domestic box office in its opening weekend.
The $5 million movie, a bloody riff on the classic Groundhog Day concept, brought in about $26 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the opening," said Jim Orr, Universal's executive vice president of domestic distribution.
Happy Death Day is Blumhouse's ninth picture to open at No. 1 and its third to debut at the top this year alone, following Split and Get Out. The latest from producer Jason Blum and Universal Pictures, the film, about a woman who relives the day of her murder until she learns her killer's identity, has a B rating on CinemaScore and a 64 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In its second week, Alcon Entertainment's Blade Runner 2049 came in second, earning $15.5 million, a 54 percent drop, for a total of about $61 million.
STX Entertainment's Jackie Chan-Pierce Brosnan action thriller, The Foreigner, debuted at No. 3 with about $13 million in ticket sales. The $35 million movie, about a London businessman out for revenge after his daughter is killed by terrorists, is the latest attempt to create a co-production with China that has global appeal, and it has already grossed $75 million in other countries, including China. Directed by Martin Campbell, the film earned an A-minus rating on CinemaScore and a 57 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fourth was New Line Cinema's It, now in its sixth weekend. It brought in about $6 million for a cumulative total of about $315 million.
Rounding out the top five is Fox Searchlight's The Mountain Between Us, now in its second weekend, which earned $5.7 million.
In limited release, Open Roads Films premiered the Chadwick Boseman historical drama Marshall, based on an early trial in the career of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, to the tune of $3 million. The $12 million film was directed by Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang) and also stars Kate Hudson and Sterling K. Brown.
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, from Annapurna Pictures, placed 15th at the box office. Released in just over 1,200 theaters, the movie collected just $737,000. The R-rated film tells the story of psychologist William Moulton Marston, who created Wonder Woman.
Fox Searchlight opened the Domhnall Gleeson-Margot Robbie drama Goodbye Christopher Robin in nine locations to $56,000. The film explores the relationship between Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin, whose toys inspired the classic.
This week, Warner Bros. opens Geostorm, Columbia Pictures debuts Only the Brave, Pure Flix premieres Same Kind of Different as Me, Universal has The Snowman, and Lionsgate drops Tyler Perry's Boo 2! A Madea Halloween. Abramorama opens the Jane Goodall documentary Jane in limited release.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
Happy Death Day, Universal, $26,039,025, 3,149 locations, $8,269 average, $26,039,025, 1 week.
Blade Runner 2049, Alcon Entertainment, $15,492,244, 4,058 locations, $3,818 average, $60,970,631, 2 weeks.
The Foreigner, STX Entertainment, $13,113,024, 2,515 locations, $5,214 average, $13,113,024, 1 week.
It, Warner Bros., $6,055,633, 3,176 locations, $1,907 average, $314,935,154, 6 weeks.
The Mountain Between Us, 20th Century Fox, $5,750,951, 3,259 locations, $1,765 average, $20,603,873, 2 weeks.
American Made, Universal, $5,500,950, 3,098 locations, $1,776 average, $40,230,815, 3 weeks.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, 20th Century Fox, $5,379,417, 2,982 locations, $1,804 average, $89,716,457, 4 weeks.
The Lego Ninjago Movie, Warner Bros., $4,316,424, 3,053 locations, $1,414 average, $51,579,113, 4 weeks.
My Little Pony: The Movie, Lionsgate, $4,111,877, 2,528 locations, $1,627 average, $15,625,311, 2 weeks.
Victoria And Abdul, Focus Features, $3,006,155, 900 locations, $3,340 average, $11,233,099, 4 weeks.
Marshall, Open Road, $3,000,805, 821 locations, $3,655 average, $3,000,805, 1 week.
Flatliners, Columbia, $1,544,995, 1,983 locations, $779 average, $15,672,966, 3 weeks.
Battle of the Sexes, Fox Searchlight, $1,338,564, 1,394 locations, $960 average, $10,352,762, 4 weeks.
MET Opera: Die Zauberflote, Fathom Events, $1,225,000, 900 locations, $1,361 average, $1,225,000, 1 week.
Professor Marston & The Wonder Women, Annapurna Pictures , $736,883, 1,229 locations, $600 average, $736,883, 1 week.
American Assassin, Lionsgate, $520,583, 820 locations, $635 average, $35,603,092, 5 weeks.
The Florida Project, A24, $368,149, 33 locations, $11,156 average, $590,957, 2 weeks.
Loving Vincent, Good Deed Entertainment, $331,602, 55 locations, $6,029 average, $750,674, 4 weeks.
The Stray, Quality Flix, $286,494, 430 locations, $666 average, $1,191,487, 2 weeks.
'Til Death Do Us Part, Novus Content, $284,088, 298 locations, $953 average, $3,221,831, 3 weeks.
MovieStyle on 10/20/2017