LOS ANGELES >> Horror film ‘Barbarian’ won the weekend, grossing $10 million according to the studio’s estimate as of Sunday, while the late summer box office doldrums continued.
The debut from Disney’s 20th Century Studios director Zach Cregger premiered at San Diego Comic-Con in July and hit 2,340 screens on Friday.
“Barbarian” tells the story of a young woman (Georgina Campbell) who finds her Airbnb home strangely inhabited by a stranger (Bill Skarsgård) in a half-ruined part of Detroit. It continues to subvert several horror conventions.
The hardly spectacular numbers were expected in an almost always slow September, with the bigger films of the fall and Christmas season many weeks away. Barbarian nearly earned its $10.5 million budget back in its first weekend.
A distant second, but only seen on 810 screens, was Brahmāstra: Part One: Shiva, an Indian Hindi fantasy epic from Star Studios, another Disney subsidiary.
Written and directed by Ayan Mukerji, the film, about a DJ named Shiva who discovers a connection with the element of fire and the ability to awaken a supernatural, super-powerful weapon, made $4.4 million in its first weekend in North America.
Longtime Hollywood classics Bullet Train and Top Gun: Maverick took third and fourth place respectively.
Bullet Train has grossed $92.5 million in six weeks and Top Gun: Maverick has grossed $705.7 million in 16 weeks, making it the fifth-highest-grossing domestic film of all time.
More quiet weeks are likely ahead before a wave of expected big earners arrive in October, including “Halloween Ends” and “Black Adam.”
Soon after, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever kicks off the holiday box office season and an even bigger round of expectations.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. The final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. “Barbarian”, $10 million.
2. “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva”, $4.4 million.
3. “Bullet Train”, $3.25 million.
4. Top Gun: Maverick, $3.2 million.
5. “DC League of Super Pets”, $2.8 million.
6. “The Invitation,” $2.6 million.
7. “Lifemark”, $2.2 million.
8. “Beast”, $1.8 million.
9. “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” $1.65 million.
10. Spider-Man: No Way Home, $1.3 million.
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