LOS ANGELES 鈥� The box office might be struggling this year, but the horror genre is alive and well.
This weekend the 鈥淕roundhog Day鈥�-like horror pic 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� scored a first-place finish, surpassing expectations and blowing the much costlier and star-driven 鈥淏lade Runner 2049鈥� out of the water.
Studio estimates Sunday show 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� took in $26.5 million from 3,149 North American theatres. With a $5-million production price tag, 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� is already a hit.
With a PG-13 rating, the film scored big with younger audiences 鈥� 63 per cent were under 25.
It鈥檚 the latest success story from Blumhouse Productions, which earlier this year released 鈥淪plit鈥� and 鈥淕et Out,鈥� with the help of Universal Pictures, which distributed.
Jim Orr, executive vice-president of domestic distribution for Universal, said 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� is an original film that鈥檚 reimaging the genre.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as much thriller as it is horror film. It鈥檚 scary, it鈥檚 funny, and it has an extraordinarily clever script that is very well executed,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淏lumhouse owns this space no doubt about it and they do this better than anybody consistently.鈥�
The film also had the benefit of coming on the heels of the massive success of 鈥淚t,鈥� which has earned $314.9 million domestically to date. The 鈥淗appy Death Day鈥� trailer played in front of 鈥淚t鈥� at theatres, which 鈥渆xponentially increased鈥� audience awareness, according to comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Horror continues to be one of the bright spots during a roller coaster year at the box office.
鈥淭his is a horror gold rush at the theatres,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been perhaps the most consistently positive story this year.鈥�
One film that does not look destined for a happy ending is 鈥淏lade Runner 2049,鈥� which fell 54 per cent in its second weekend in theatres, adding $15.1 million to bring its domestic total to $60.6 million.
The film was a costly endeavour with a production price tag north of $150 million and was well-reviewed by critics but couldn鈥檛 manage to draw in significant audiences beyond the fans of the 1982 original, which was also a flop upon release.
Jackie Chan鈥檚 鈥淭he Foreigner鈥� debuted in third place with $12.8 million from 2,515 screens, while 鈥淚t鈥� landed in fourth place in its sixth weekend in theatres.
The Kate Winslet and Idris Elba disaster pic 鈥淭he Mountain Between Us鈥� rounded out the top five with $5.7 million.
Other new releases landed outside the top 10. The Thurgood Marshall biopic 鈥淢arshall鈥� took in a promising $3 million from 821 theatres.
鈥淢arshall is off to a solid start,鈥� said Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg in a statement. 鈥淲e expect Marshall to hold very well and run well into the fall.鈥�
But the Wonder Woman creator biopic 鈥淧rofessor Marston and the Wonder Woman鈥� failed to capitalize from the massive success of 鈥淲onder Woman鈥� earlier this year. The film earned only $737,000 from over 1,200 locations.
鈥淕oodbye Christopher Robin,鈥� about author A.A. Milne and the creation of the beloved children鈥檚 books and characters, also got off to a poor start with $56,000 from nine theatres.
鈥淥ctober is off to a slow start,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1.鈥淗appy Death Day,鈥� $26.5 million.
2.鈥淏lade Runner 2049,鈥� $15.1 million.
3.鈥淭he Foreigner,鈥� $12.8 million.
4.鈥淚t,鈥� $6.1 million.
5.鈥淭he Mountain Between Us,鈥� $5.7 million.
6.鈥淎merican Made,鈥� $5.4 million.
7.鈥淜ingsman: The Golden Circle,鈥� $5.3 million.
8.鈥淭he Lego Ninjago Movie,鈥� $4.3 million.
9.鈥淢y Little Pony: The Movie,鈥� $4 million.
10.鈥淰ictoria and Abdul,鈥� $3.1 million.
