With $15.5 million in its second weekend, directorDenis Villeneuve’sDuneheld on to the top spot at a muted box office that was, as expected, spooked by Halloween. This puts somewhat of a dampener on an otherwise promising month.Dunefell 62% after debuting with $40.1 million in its first weekend.
The science-fiction epic, based on the 1965 novel byFrank Herbert, was also released day-and-date on the HBO Max streaming service as a part of Warner Bros’ controversial 2021 release strategy, which Villeneuve hasvocally criticized. After a string of box office disappointments such asThe Suicide Squad,Space Jam: A New Legacy, andMortal Kombat— all of which plunged around 70% in their sophomore weekends —Dunebecame a rare win for the studio, which has been under fire for disrupting both the traditional and streaming marketplace. WB and Legendary capitalized on the buzz when they confirmed thelong-speculated sequelfor an October 2023 release over the week. Worldwide, the $165 million-budgeted film is nearing $300 million.
If nothing else,Dune’s strong debut, and subsequently solid hold, inspire confidence inThe Matrix Resurrections, the final release on WB’s 2021 calendar before the studio drops the day-and-date model next year.
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But overall, there was little to celebrate at the box office as the two big new releases both tanked in their opening weekends.Edgar Wright’sLast Night in Soho, starringAnya Taylor-JoyandThomasin McKenzie, will fight it out for the number six spot withScott Cooper’sAntlers, featuringKeri RussellandJesse Plemons.Last Night in Sohois playing in around 200 more screens thanAntlers— 3,016 as compared to 2,800 — but both films made around $4.2 million, which isn’t a great number for horror pictures on the Halloween weekend.
The disappointing debuts of these two films left the door open for directorDavid Gordon Green’s holdoverHalloween Killsto claim the number two spot, with $8.5 million. This takes the film’s domestic total to over $85 million, after arecord-settinghorror debut of $50 million in its first weekend. The 2018Halloweenreboot, conceptualized by Green and co-writerDanny McBride, was a hit, with over $250 million worldwide. Universal seems undeterred by the sequel’s inferior performance; a third installment —Halloween Ends— has already been greenlit.
Daniel Craig’s fifth and final film as the iconic British spy James Bond —No Time to Die— came in at the number three spot, with $7.8 million from around 3,500 screens. This takes theCary Joji Fukunaga-directed film’s domestic total to $133 million. Worldwide, the picture has crossed the $500 million mark, although it stills trails each of Craig’s other Bond movies.
With $6.5 million from 1,600 screens,My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Missiontook the number four spot, a continuation of a recent trend ofanime films performing stronglyat the box office.World Heroes’ Missionis the third film in the series, followingMy Hero Academia: Two HeroesandMy Hero Academia: Heroes Rising.
The number five spot went to Sony’s Marvel antihero sequel,Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which pulled in another $5.7 million to take its domestic total to nearly $200 million. So far this year, only one film —Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings— has crossed this milestone. WhileVenom 2trails the original 2018 film worldwide, it’s still a win for Sony, which is banking heavily on its own universe of Marvel movies.
Next weekend sees the release of the hotly-anticipated butdivisively-reviewednew superhero film,Eternals, directed byChloé Zhao.
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