After a record breaking start, the October US box office had a rather quiet final weekend, as Dune remained in the first row and that two newcomers, Last Night in Soho and Antlers, stumbled.
Whether it was Halloween falling on a Sunday, too many new options, or just a lack of enthusiasm, cinematic audiences seemed to have other plans this weekend.
First place always goes to the big budget movie Dune from Quebec director Denis Villeneuve. During its second weekend in theaters in North America, Dune, which is also available on HBO Max, grossed an additional US $ 15.5 million, the studio estimated on Sunday. Although down 62% from its debut, ticket sales were enough to give it one more week at the top of the box office.
With a production budget of 165 million US (excluding marketing and promotion), Dune has now grossed US $ 69.4 million in North America and US $ 292.1 million worldwide. Warner Bros. and Legendary last week confirmed plans to move forward with a sequel slated to hit theaters exclusively in 2023.
Halloween kills, in his third weekend, placed second at 8.5 million US. The penultimate film in this modern trilogy has now grossed US $ 115.1 million worldwide.
Last Night in Soho Edgar Wright started in sixth place. Shown on 3,016 screens, the elegant thriller distributed by Focus has grossed an estimated US $ 4.2 million. Thomasin McKenzie stars as a modern fashion student who dreams at night of increasingly realistic dreams of aspiring singer Anya Taylor-Joy in the 1960s.
Antlers by Scott Cooper, about a mythical beast terrorizing a devastated Oregon town, also grossed an estimated 4.2 million US in 2,800 theaters.