NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� David O. Russell's star-studded 1930s mystery flopped and the children's book adaptation debuted softly, allowing the horror thriller 鈥淪mile鈥� to repeat atop the box office in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Neither new release caught fire with moviegoers but the disappointment was most acute for 鈥淎msterdam,鈥� a poorly reviewed $80 million screwball romp starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. The 20th Century Studios production, co-funded by New Regency and released by the Walt Disney Co., opened with just $6.5 million 鈥� a stinging rebuke for the decorated filmmaker of 鈥淪ilver Linings Playbook鈥� whose splashy ensemble also includes Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy and Taylor Swift.
Sony Pictures' 鈥淟yle, Lyle, Crocodile,鈥� a musical based on Bernard Waber's children's book featuring Shawn Mendes as the voice of a computer-generated reptile, fared better, collecting $11.5 million in ticket sales. But that still was a relatively modest result, especially for the first major family movie to land in theaters since the summer. The film, which cost $50 million to make, could benefit from children being out of school for Monday's Columbus Day and little kid-movie competition this month.
A week after Paramount Pictures' 鈥淪mile鈥� remained No. 1 with $17.6 million at the box office 鈥� an impressive second week for the modestly budget horror flick. Horror films usually fall steeply in their second week of release but 鈥淪mile,鈥� a creepy thriller about trauma and evil spirits, dropped just 22%. To keep the momentum, Paramount on Sunday announced a weeklong series of promotions, including discounted tickets and a 鈥淪mile鈥� NFT giveaway for some ticket-buyers on Thursday.
The best news for Hollywood over the weekend was a sign that adult audiences, after two pandemic-plagued seasons, may be eager to come out for the fall's top awards contenders. Todd Field's 鈥淭谩r," debuted with $160,000 in four New York and Los Angeles theaters, good for a stellar $40,000 per-theater average. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Field's first film since 2006's 鈥淟ittle Children" has drawn raves from critics and Oscar nomination predictions for Blanchett.
The promising start will encourage a long line of awards contenders coming in the next few weeks, including MGM's Emmett Till drama 鈥淭ill," MUBI's Park Chan-wook thriller 鈥淒ecision to Leave鈥� and Searchlight Pictures' 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin," by writer-director Martin McDonagh.
At the same time, a prolonged sluggish period in theaters may be coming to a close. Not since 鈥淏ullet Train鈥� opened in early August has a film cleared $23 million, a downturn owed in part to a light release schedule. But next week, Universal Pictures debuts 鈥淗alloween Ends鈥� both in theaters and on Peacock. The following weekend sees the release of Warner Bros.' 鈥淏lack Adam,鈥� with Dwayne Johnson.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Smile," $17.6 million.
2. 鈥淟yle, Lyle, Crocodile,鈥� $11.5 million.
3. 鈥淎msterdam," $6.5 million.
4. 鈥淭he Woman King,鈥� $5.3 million.
5. 鈥淒on't Worry Darling,鈥� $3.5 million.
6. 鈥淎vatar,鈥� $2.6 million.
7. 鈥淏arbarian,鈥� $2.2 million.
8. 鈥淏ros,鈥� $2.2 million.
9. 鈥淧onniyin Selvan Part One," $910,000.
10. 鈥淭errifier 2,鈥� $825,000.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
