The box office remains trapped between seasons, and there is still a little while to go until the winter season gets underway in October. As a result, it was only ever going to be a two-way tussle to top the box office this past weekend. Beetlejuice vs. Transformers.
Tim Burton’s sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came out on top… just! In its third weekend, it pulled in $26 million to take its total to $225 million domestically and $330 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, its biggest threat underperformed. Transformers One is getting stellar reviews from critics and fans alike, but that did not help it. It has underperformed against projections and expectations. $25 million domestic and $14 million overseas is a real blow to the studio who were expecting big things.
Speak No Evil was third with $5.9 million, with $21.5 million domestic and $42 million overall.
Meanwhile, Crawl and Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja’s Halle Berry-led thriller Never Let Go also underwhelmed with $4.5 million and mixed reviews.
This must mean that Lionsgate is now in serious trouble as its recent slate was The Killer’s Game, The Crow, and Borderlands. A takeover target? Perhaps.
Just a few days ahead of a Disney+ debut and PVOD release, Deadpool & Wolverine grabbed another $3.8 million in its ninth weekend of release, clinging on to top-five status.
Demi Moore’s body-horror The Substance is getting strong critics reviews, but as its horror then that rarely converts to blockbuster takings, and that is the case here as it pulled in $3.1 million.
The Wild Robot pulled in $6.8 million, but that only had a limited release this week. Next week it goes wider.