Copyright Variety
A smattering of new releases will aim to dethrone “Black Phone 2” at the domestic box office. Three films — Disney and 20th Century Studios’ musical biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” Paramount’s romantic drama “Regretting You” and Sony’s R-rated anime title “Chainsaw Man” — are tracking debuts in the $10 million range. Meanwhile last weekend’s champ, Universal and Blumhouse’s scary sequel “Black Phone 2,” is similarly targeting a $10 million to $12 million haul in its second outing. So far, “Black Phone” has earned $27.3 million domestically and $42.8 million globally. Barring the arrival of a sleeper hit, it’s shaping up to be yet another dreary October weekend after the Warner Bros. sequel “Mortal Kombat II” was moved from Oct. 24 to May 2026. “Chainsaw Man” could lead the pack with $11 million to $15 million, and box office watchers believe it has the best chance among newcomers of breaking through over the weekend. That’s because anime has been enjoying a theatrical hot streak with Sony’s own “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” debuting to a remarkable $70 million in September. Adapted from a popular TV series, “Demon Slayer” then became the highest-grossing anime film ever with $131 million domestically and $659 million worldwide. “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” starring “The Bear” actor Jeremy Allen White as the Boss, is projecting a start between $8 million to $12 million from 3,400 North American theaters. The film is expected to collect another $8 million to $10 million in its international debut for a worldwide tally around $16 million to $22 million. Directed by Scott Cooper, the $55 million-budgeted musical drama centers on a less commercial chapter in Springsteen’s robust career, chronicling the writing of his 1982 album “Nebraska.” If estimates hold, initial ticket sales for “Springsteen” would be comparable to another recent musical biopic, Searchlight’s “A Complete Unknown,” featuring Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. That film opened last December with $11.6 million over the three days and enjoyed staying power, eventually earning $75 million domestically and $140 million globally. “Regretting You” looks to earn $8 million to $10 million from 3,300 venues. Based on the 2019 novel by Colleen Hoover, the PG-13 story follows a mother and daughter (Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace) who grapple with the aftermath of a devastating accident. It carries a $30 million production budget. “Regretting You” is Hoover’s second novel to get the big-screen treatment. Her first was “It Ends With Us,” starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (who also directed), which ignited to $50 million and became a breakout hit with $344 million worldwide against a $25 million budget. (In addition to becoming hugely profitable for all parties, “It Ends With Us” has also been plagued by a series of never-ending lawsuits between Lively and Baldoni, who remain embroiled in a legal battle about allegations of a hostile work environment and a subsequent smear campaign.) Hoover’s books “Verity” and “Reminders of Him” are being adapted by other studios. Overall domestic revenues are just 4% ahead of 2024 and more than 20% behind pre-pandemic times, according to Comscore. Moviegoing should get a boost next weekend when Netflix re-releases “Kpop Demon Hunters” for Halloween-themed sing-along screenings. But attendance won’t be consistent until later in the fall when Disney’s extraterrestrial adventure “Predator: Badlands,” Lionsgate’s heist threequel “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” Universal’s musical adaptation “Wicked: For Good” and Disney’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” make their way to theaters.
