Horror sequel ‘Black Phone 2’ dials up a No. 1 opening

The horror sequel “Black Phone 2” topped the North American box office charts this weekend with $26.5 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Not only did it surpass the original’s $23.6 million debut, it’s a much-needed win for Blumhouse after a string of disappointments this year like “M3GAN 2.0.”

Though “Black Phone 2” opened in line with expectations, moviegoing in October continues to be slow – down about 11% from last year, according to Comscore. The overall box office is still up about 4% compared with last year, but a big blockbuster hit that could spark more momentum might not arrive until late November or December.

Universal Pictures released “Black Phone 2” in 3,411 theaters in North America on a wave of good reviews. Coming four years after the original, the sequel sees the return of filmmaker Scott Derrickson, as well as stars Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames. Opening weekend audiences were 63% between the ages of 18 and 34, according to exit polls, and the biggest demographic was Hispanics, making up 39% of ticket buyers while Caucasians accounted for 35%.

With an additional $15.5 million from 71 international territories, “Black Phone 2” had a $42 million worldwide launch against a reported $30 million production budget.

The first “Black Phone” was a bit of a sleeper hit for Universal and Blumhouse in 2021 as cinemas were beginning to come back to life after COVID shutdowns. By the end of its run, it had earned more than $161 million worldwide against an $18 million budget.

Blumhouse has had a rocky 2025, with a handful of duds including “Wolf Man” and “The Woman in the Yard.” But the once impenetrable horror hitmaker could be on the upswing again with a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” sequel coming in December. The first movie earned nearly $300 million worldwide.

“Black Phone 2” was also the only film to really break through this weekend, despite a slew of options playing in wide release including the R-rated Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari and Keanu Reeves comedy “Good Fortune,” which opened in 2,990 locations to $6.2 million, and the expansion of the Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield drama “After the Hunt,” which made $1.6 million from 1,238 theaters.

“Tron: Ares” fell about 67% to $11.1 million in its second weekend in theaters, which was enough to snag second place on the charts. Globally it has now earned $103 million.

“Good Fortune,” which opened in third place, had mostly positive reviews on its side, but Ansari’s comedy with a side of social commentary did not drum up a lot of enthusiasm in its first weekend. With a B+ CinemaScore, though, it likely has a better chance in the coming weeks than the campus drama “After the Hunt,” which got a very poor C- score.

Next weekend audiences will get another batch of awards-hopefuls, including Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest Emma Stone collaboration “Bugonia” and the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” starring “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White.