by Conan Simmons – November 2, 2020 – 4:24 pm
Halloween weekend came and went quietly. Horror films naturally dominated at the box office along with science-fiction hit ‘Tenet’ and holdovers, ‘War with Grandpa’ and ‘Honest Thief’.
The only new film to debut was the creature feature horror film ‘Come Play’ which took the top spot. ‘The Empty Man’ bookended the Weekend Top 5.
As many European nations return to lockdown the same is expected to recur in the U.S. in the coming month. Most all theaters continue to struggle during this pandemic and the coming week or two should reveal if Hollywood delays the release of the last couple of major films still currently scheduled for 2020. While some films, ‘News of the World’ and ‘Death on the Nile’, may end up on streaming if theaters shut down, ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ will most likely be delayed into 2021 though the filmmakers involved have expressed serious uncertainty as to if the film will remain committed to a theatrical release.
WEEKEND TOP 5 (October 30 – November 1, 2020)
- ‘Come Play’ – $3.2 million – horror (debut)
- ‘Honest Thief’ – $1.4 million – action-adventure (dropping 1 million, 42% decline)
- ‘War with Grandpa’ – $1.1 million – family (dropping 800k, 42% decline)
- ‘Tenet’ – $800k – science fiction (dropping 500k, 30% decline)
- ‘The Empty Man’ – $500k – horror (dropping 800k, 62% decline)
The total for the weekend is $7 million. Down 400k from last weekend for a decline of a modest 5%. Not bad given circumstances around the country. With no major releases scheduled for the rest of November it is going to be rough roads ahead for cinemas.