A Nail-Biter at the Top, But the Real Horror Is the Empty Seats
In the flickering glow of a holiday meant for scares and sweets, theaters sat half-forgotten—crowds chasing ghosts in the streets, not on screen. This weekend’s box office skirmish between a tear-jerking romance and a sequel summoning fresh nightmares underscores a brutal truth: even when Hollywood dangles dread, the pull of porch lights and playoffs wins out. Dive in as we unpack the numbers, the near-misses, and what they whisper about a fall season gasping for air.
- A Nail-Biter at the Top, But the Real Horror Is the Empty Seats
- Whispers from the Weekend’s Wreckage
- FAQ
- Why couldn’t Regretting You match It Ends With Us’ box office fire?
- Is The Black Phone 2 proving sequels are horror’s safe bet?
- What’s killing anime films’ legs at the box office?
- Can Bugonia buck Lanthimos’ domestic box office blues?
- How does this slow Halloween signal bigger troubles for fall releases?
The weekend of October 31 to November 2, 2025, wasn’t just slow—it felt like a dirge for domestic ticket sales, with Halloween hijinks and the World Series’ feverish finale siphoning souls from multiplexes. Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia expanded wide, but it couldn’t conjure crowds amid the candy wrappers and baseball bats. Instead, Josh Boone’s Regretting You—that Colleen Hoover adaptation riding the faint echo of It Ends With Us‘ summer thunder—nipped at the heels of Scott Derrickson’s The Black Phone 2, separated by a razor-thin $100,000 in early estimates. It’s the kind of photo-finish that leaves you checking your watch, wondering if anyone’s really watching.
For the uninitiated—or those still nursing a post-trick-or-treat haze—here’s the full Top 10 domestic box office rundown, courtesy of the latest from The Numbers. Numbers don’t lie, but they do murmur about missed opportunities.
| Title | Weekend Gross | Domestic Gross | LW | Theaters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Regretting You | $8,100,000 | $27,534,000 | 2 | 3,425 |
| 2. The Black Phone 2 | $8,000,000 | $61,454,000 | 3 | 3,305 |
| 3. Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc | $6,000,000 | $30,769,000 | 1 | 3,003 |
| 4. Bugonia | $4,800,000 | $5,815,000 | 14 | 2,043 |
| 5. Back to the Future | $4,700,000 | $220,312,000 | N/A | 2,290 |
| 6. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | $3,800,000 | $16,270,557 | 4 | 3,460 |
| 7. Tron: Ares | $2,800,000 | $67,894,660 | 5 | 2,575 |
| 8. Stitch Head* | $2,100,000 | $2,495,756 | N/A | 2,162 |
| 9. Good Fortune | $1,400,000 | $14,620,570 | 6 | 2,150 |
| 10. One Battle After Another | $1,150,000 | $67,758,000 | 8 | 904 |
*Limited release.
Look at that: Regretting You clawing its way to presumed No. 1, a modest $8.1 million haul that nudges its domestic cume to $27.5 million. It’s no It Ends With Us—that Blake Lively vehicle was already north of $97 million by day ten last summer—but give it this: in a week where theaters might as well have hung “Closed for Costumes” signs, holding serve against a horror sequel feels like quiet defiance. Critics weren’t kind on arrival, doling out middling reviews, and audiences handed it a B CinemaScore—solid, but not the kind that packs houses on a Tuesday. Overseas, though? $23.3 million already, pushing global to $50.8 million. Sometimes the heartstrings tug harder abroad, where the Hoover formula—twisted regrets, stolen glances—lands like forbidden fruit.
Flip the script to The Black Phone 2, and there’s Mason Thames again, trading romantic pangs for phone-line terrors. The Grabber’s encore, with Ethan Hawke dialing up the dread, snagged an $8 million weekend— a 38% dip from last week’s spooky surge, but hey, Halloween should’ve been its candy-coated coronation. Instead, it mirrors the original’s steady grind: that 2022 gem wrapped at $90.1 million domestic, and this one’s pacing it beat for beat, domestic at $61.5 million. Globally? $104.7 million, eclipsing The Accountant 2 ($103.2M), The Naked Gun ($102.1M), and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale ($100.3M). In the horror lane—my perpetual haunt—it’s a feather in the cap, proof that Derrickson still knows how to make the shadows stick. But that modest 53% drop last frame? It stings like a missed curfew. Audiences crave the chill, yet they scatter like leaves in the wind.
Then there’s the gut-punch further down: Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc. Tatsuya Yoshihara’s anime firecracker exploded to $18 million on debut, only to crater 67% this weekend. $6 million now, domestic at $30.8 million—but wait for the kicker: $129.9 million worldwide, mostly from international fervor. It’s the anime curse redux—Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle nosedived 75% in September after a $70 million bow. Fans swarm opening night, katanas drawn, but word-of-mouth? It evaporates faster than mist. These titles conquer hearts on streaming or at home, yet theaters expose the fragility: explosive starts, evaporating legs. In a market where Jujutsu Kaisen reruns could outpace this, it’s a reminder—anime’s theatrical triumphs are fireworks, not campfires.
Bugonia slinks into fourth, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s latest oddity expanding from a killer $41,756 per-theater average in 17 spots last week. Now? $4.8 million across 2,043 screens, a $2,349 average that screams “festival darling meets mainstream shrug.” The Favourite and Poor Things topped out at $34 million domestic each; don’t bet on this bug-buzzing caper rewriting the script. Critics adore it post-TIFF whispers—acclaim from fall fests like a velvet glove over arthouse iron—but November’s Predator: Badlands looms, Dan Trachtenberg’s hunt fresh off Prey‘s streaming shadow. Will word-of-mouth weave its spell? Or will it buzz off like so many Lanthimos fever dreams?
Holdovers tell their own tale. Back to the Future—that eternal DeLorean—chugs $4.7 million, domestic nearing $220 million in what feels like a perpetual re-release loop. Bruce Springsteen’s Deliver Me From Nowhere rocks $3.8 million, a Boss biopic holding steady at $16.3 million. Tron: Ares grids down to $2.8 million, still at $67.9 million domestic. And newcomers like Stitch Head ($2.1 million in limited) hint at family fare’s quiet creep.
This weekend box office report paints a portrait of a industry in twilight—Halloween’s haunt should be prime for horrors like The Black Phone 2, yet parties and playoffs pilfered the patrons. It’s the slow bleed of a fall slate: rom-dramas grasping for relevance, sequels summoning ghosts that don’t quite rattle chains, anime arcs fizzling post-flash. As someone who’s chased shadows from Sundance basements to Cannes’ midnight madness, I feel the ache—cinema thrives on communal chills, but when the world’s got its own monsters to wrestle, screens go cold. Still, that $100,000 gap? It’s the movies’ way of whispering, We’re not done yet.
Whispers from the Weekend’s Wreckage
The Razor’s Edge at No. 1 Regretting You slips ahead by a whisper—$100,000 that could flip with final counts. It’s Hoover’s heartache finding footing in a holiday haze, buoyed more by foreign shores than fervent fans.
Horror’s Holiday Hangover The Black Phone 2 summons a solid $8 million, but that 38% Halloween bump feels like polite applause, not a scream. Hawke’s Grabber grabs headlines, yet legs mirror the original’s patient prowl.
Anime’s Eternal Second-Week Slump Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc tumbles 67%, a brutal echo of Demon Slayer‘s fade. Explosive opens, evaporating audiences—proof streaming’s siren call outpaces theatrical staying power.
Lanthimos’ Buzz Meets Brick Wall Bugonia expands to $4.8 million, but per-screen averages plummet from festival highs. Stone and Lanthimos craft cult curios, but domestic dollars demand more than quirky allure.
Holdovers Haunting the Chart Back to the Future time-travels to $4.7 million, a relic reminding us classics don’t quit. Meanwhile, Tron: Ares grids onward—fall’s faithful few, defying the seasonal chill.
Catch your breath, then hit the theaters before November’s predators pounce. What’s your take on this box office ghost story—romance reigning or horror’s quiet revenge? Drop it in the comments; let’s dissect the dark.
FAQ
Why couldn’t Regretting You match It Ends With Us’ box office fire?
It boils down to spark—or lack thereof. Where Lively’s film ignited summer buzz with star power and timely drama, Boone’s take feels like a cooler ember, middling reviews and a B CinemaScore failing to fan the flames. Overseas cash helps, but domestic? It’s settling for survival, not scorched-earth success.
Is The Black Phone 2 proving sequels are horror’s safe bet?
Safe? In a genre that feasts on fresh frights, this one’s treading the original’s trail too faithfully—$104 million global is tidy, outpacing some franchise flops, but that modest drop screams diminishing returns. Derrickson delivers dread, yet without reinvention, it’s cozy haunt, not heart-stopping hex.
What’s killing anime films’ legs at the box office?
The curse of the superfans: they swarm debuts like moths to neon, but broader word-of-mouth withers—Reze Arc‘s 67% plunge mirrors Demon Slayer‘s woes. Theaters demand crossover magic; anime’s niche thrill doesn’t always bridge to casual crowds craving comfort over chaos.
Can Bugonia buck Lanthimos’ domestic box office blues?
Festival raves are velvet, but $2,349 per screen says the quirk doesn’t scale. Stone’s charm carried Poor Things to cult status, yet Bugonia‘s bug-eyed weirdness risks arthouse exile. Word-of-mouth might mend it—or November’s blockbusters could squash the buzz flat.
How does this slow Halloween signal bigger troubles for fall releases?
It’s the holiday that should’ve howled, but empty seats scream distraction—parties, playoffs, porch vigils over popcorn. With Predator: Badlands lurking Friday, it’s a warning: without communal pull, even scares scatter. Fall’s fighting for relevance in a world wired for anywhere-but-here entertainment.
