Disney’s neon-drenched comeback kid Tron: Ares powered to the top with an estimated $33.5M, giving October some much-needed juice. Paramount’s true-crime caper Roofman opened at $8.0M for a solid No. 2, while Warner Bros.’ action-thriller One Battle After Another held the podium in its third frame with $6.7M (down 39%), crossing $54.5M domestic.
Family fare kept humming as Universal’s Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie added $3.35M (-37%) for $26.43M to date. Sony’s inspirational drama Soul on Fire bowed to $3.0M, a fifth-place start that will rely on strong word of mouth (audiences are hot on it). The Conjuring: Last Rites continued its long run for Warner Bros., scaring up $2.94M (-29%) and pushing its cume past $172M. Anime juggernaut Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle (Sony/Crunchyroll) posted $2.25M (-37%) for $128.64M.
A24’s The Smashing Machine stumbled in its sophomore round ($1.80M, -69%), while Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 2 ($1.55M, -46%) and IFC’s Good Boy ($1.36M, -42%) rounded out the Top 10.
Overall traffic was muted with specialty titles soft and last week’s one-and-done Taylor Swift event no longer in the mix. The corridor between summer tentpoles and holiday heavyweights remains choppy—making next weekend’s Universal sequel The Black Phone 2 the best bet to jolt the market (and draw comparisons to Smile 2’s $23M October launch last year).
Reel 360 Box Office Chart (courtesy of Comscore)
| Rank | Title (Distributor) | Wk | Theaters | Weekend Gross | % Chg | Per-Theater Avg | Total Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tron: Ares (Disney) | 1 | 4,000 | $33,500,000 | — | $8,375 | $33,500,000 |
| 2 | Roofman (Paramount) | 1 | 3,362 | $8,000,000 | — | $2,380 | $8,000,000 |
| 3 | One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) | 3 | 3,127 | $6,675,000 | -39% | $2,135 | $54,501,000 |
| 4 | Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie (Universal) | 3 | 3,049 | $3,350,000 | -37% | $1,099 | $26,432,000 |
| 5 | Soul on Fire (Sony) | 1 | 1,720 | $3,000,000 | — | $1,744 | $3,000,000 |
| 6 | The Conjuring: Last Rites (Warner Bros.) | 6 | 2,334 | $2,935,000 | -29% | $1,257 | $172,442,000 |
| 7 | Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle (S/CR) | 5 | 1,834 | $2,250,000 | -37% | $1,227 | $128,637,000 |
| 8 | The Smashing Machine (A24) | 2 | 3,321 | $1,796,992 | -69% | $541 | $9,807,450 |
| 9 | The Strangers: Chapter 2 (Lionsgate) | 3 | 1,878 | $1,550,000 | -46% | $825 | $13,498,000 |
| 10 | Good Boy (IFC) | 2 | 1,650 | $1,360,000 | -42% | $824 | $4,863,007 |
Weekend total: $64,416,992
Ares delivered a respectable October start (with ILM polish and franchise nostalgia), Roofman over-performed its modest budget, and horror continues to be the market’s metronome as we sprint toward the Halloween frame.
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