As Halloween approaches, it’s no wonder that audiences are looking for a good scare. Well, “good” is a bit subjective in this case, as the current number one movie in America isJigsaw, the eighth chapter in Lionsgate’s lucrative and truly lousy horror franchise. With Thursday previews added in, the latestSawmovie has brought in an estimated $7.1 million, putting it far ahead of all other comers at thebox office. There is no discussion:Jigsawwill remain on top for the rest of the weekend.
It’s closest competition isBoo 2! A Madea Halloween, which came in with $2.6 million by the end of yesterday after leading a mediocre box office weekend last week.Tyler Perry’s latest brought in a little over $21 million by the end of last Sunday andJigsawis looking to make just about the same, so there’s not much to get excited about here.Geostorm’s third place showing with $1.5 million certainly doesn’t make that any easier to swallow, nor doesHappy Death Day’s fourth place showing with approximately $29,000 less than theGerard Butlervehicle.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing here is the weak opening ofThank You for Your Service, an imperfect but fascinating and well-acted portrait of young soldiers in combat, at home and abroad. Led by a moving performance fromMiles Teller, the movie came in with only $16,000 less than its closest competitor, which doesn’t speak well for its longterm appeal in theaters. It’s fairing much better thanGeorge Clooney’s ludicrousSuburbicon, despite the dark comedy sporting a cast that includesMatt DamonandJulianne Moore. And to be fair, war films never do well unless they can be construed as celebrating the military, andThank You for Your Service’s unsparing depiction of how the military, government, and the populace often turn their back on or even spite veterans is not easy to square in those terms. Still, one would have hoped (perhaps without reason) that it would have done better than the eighth iteration of a bad horror movie made with exactly no interest or passion for its genre.
Here’s your top five for Friday:
Friday Domestic BO
Total Domestic BO
1. ‘Jigsaw’
$7,166,000
2. ‘Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’
$2,630,000
$28,151,643
3. ‘Geostorm’
$1,550,000
$19,428,368
4. ‘Happy Death Day’
$1,521,000
$44,852,640
- ‘Thank You for Your Service’
$1,505,000
