Indiana Jones鈥� reign atop the box office was short-lived. In its second weekend in theaters, the Disney release was usurped by another franchise fifth 鈥� 鈥� .鈥� The horror film starring and directed by Patrick Wilson scared up $32.7 million in ticket sales from 3,188 theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
It did better than the last installment, 鈥淚nsidious: The Last Key,鈥� from 2018 and is the most any PG-13 horror movie has earned in its debut in the past two years.
鈥淚nsidious 5鈥� was not well reviewed 鈥� but modestly budgeted scary movies are often critic-proof when it comes to the box office. This Blumhouse-produced franchise starring Wilson and Rose Byrne began in 2011 under the direction of James Wan and has been responsible for over $570 million in global box office returns 鈥� and none of the films have cost more than $16 million to produce. Only the first movie received a 鈥渇resh鈥� rating on Rotten Tomatoes; The 鈥淚nsidious鈥� films more often garner sub 40% scores.
"The horror genre seems to have a never-ending allure for audiences," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淗orror movies are profitable and they鈥檙e popular. Audiences love them and the accountants love them, too.鈥�
It was shrewd of Sony to release 鈥淚nsidious鈥� on the weekend between two Hollywood tentpoles, in this case 鈥� 鈥� and 鈥� ,鈥� which opens on Wednesday. But it was still a surprise that it was able to take No. 1 from something as well-known as 鈥淚ndiana Jones.鈥�
鈥淚t was a perfect release date,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淭his adds more complexity to the dynamics of the marketplace.鈥�
鈥淚ndiana Jones 5鈥� took second place in its second weekend with $26.5 million in North America (down 56% from its opening), bringing its domestic total to $121.2 million. Globally it's earned an estimated $247.9 million.
Indy had some other competition too, in 鈥淪ound of Freedom,鈥� a child trafficking drama starring Jim Caveziel, that opened on July 4 and nearly boasted similar ticket sales for the day. 鈥淪ound of Freedom" was made and distributed by Angel Studios, a faith-based, crowdfunded operation, and managed to come in third place this weekend with an estimated $18.2 million from 2,850 theaters.
Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution at Angel Studios, said in a statement that the numbers exceeded expectations and attributed its success to word of mouth.
鈥淲e鈥檙e deeply grateful to AMC, Cinemark, Regal, and all our theater partners 鈥� and their hard-working theater staff members 鈥� for working with us to accommodate the surging demand for this film and having the courage to release 鈥楽ound of Freedom鈥� during the busiest movie season of the year,鈥� Purdie said.
Part of Angel Studios operation involved the ability to buy 鈥減ay it forward鈥� tickets on behalf of others. On opening day, the studio estimated that $11.6 million came from direct box office and $2.7 million through the pay it forward option. The film has been popular among right-wing pundits too and has appeared on QAnon message boards.
鈥� 鈥� also made its theatrical debut this weekend in 2,820 locations and earned an underwhelming $5.9 million to take sixth place behind 鈥淓lemental鈥� and 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.鈥� The R-rated comedy directed and co-written by Adele Lim follows four friends on an international trip, played by Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu.
The modestly budgeted Lionsgate release got rave reviews out of the South by Southwest Film Festival and maintains a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it didn鈥檛 motivate big crowds this weekend. Those that did go (58% women, 72% over age 25, according to PostTrak) gave it a B- CinemaScore, suggesting the movie did not meet expectations, which can sometimes be because of how the film was marketed. The hope is that word-of-mouth might help 鈥淛oy Ride" in the coming weeks.
鈥淛oy Ride鈥� is one of several raunchy, adult comedies in theaters this summer, including the Jennifer Lawrence movie 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� which earned $5.3 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $40.3 million.
In more limited release, 鈥淭he Lesson,鈥� a literary chamber thriller starring Richard E. Grant and Daryl McCormack, opened to $157,752 from 268 screens.
With the summer movie season at its midway point, there is concern about the overall box office, which is about on par with where it was at the same point in 2022.
鈥淏y now, we thought we鈥檇 be well ahead of last year,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淏ut (movies like 鈥業nsidious鈥� and 鈥楽ound of Freedom) add more revenue to the bottom line that a lot of people didn鈥檛 expect. Sometimes surprises come along and that鈥檚 great for theaters.鈥�
He added: 鈥淏ut we need the next few weeks to really overperform.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淚nsidious: The Red Door,鈥� $32.7 million.
2. 鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,鈥� $26.5 million.
3. 鈥淪ound of Freedom,鈥� $18.2 million.
4. 鈥淓lemental,鈥� $9.6 million.
5.鈥� Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,鈥� $8 million.
6. 鈥淛oy Ride,鈥� $5.9 million.
7. 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� $5.3 million.
8. 鈥淭ransformers: Rise of the Beasts,鈥� $5 million.
9. 鈥淭he Little Mermaid,鈥� $3.5 million.
10. 鈥淩uby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,鈥� $2.8 million.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
