Paramount and Constantin Films’ romance-drama Regretting You, based on the book by Colleen Hoover, has emerged as a strong contender in this year’s Halloween box office race, following the success of It Ends With Us.
Preliminary estimates indicate that Regretting You topped the charts with $8.1 million from 3,245 theaters in its second weekend of release.
However, Universal also projects that Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2 may have secured the top spot with $8 million across 3,425 cinemas. Rival studios suggest the horror sequel, now in its third weekend, may surpass Regretting You.
Last weekend, the final figures revealed that Regretting You had indeed outperformed Black Phone 2 by a significant margin. A clearer ranking of the films for the October 31-November 2 period will be confirmed on Monday, as some speculate Paramount’s initial estimates may be overly optimistic.
Typically, Universal might call the weekend results a tie, but with overall ticket sales declining to $49.8 million, the lowest of the year, the situation warranted no disputes. This Halloween weekend is reported as the worst in 31 years, excluding the pandemic-affected 2020.
Factors affecting this decline include a lack of major releases, unlike big titles from previous years. Instead, this Halloween exhibitors relied on a mix of older films and expansions of niche titles like Focus Features’ Bugonia.
Regretting You has accumulated $27.5 million domestically in its first ten days, while its global total stands at $50.8 million. Meanwhile, Black Phone 2 has crossed the $104 million mark, marking a significant success for Blumhouse. The box office scenario reflects ongoing challenges for studios and theaters alike.
