'Jigsaw' Wins Horrible Weekend at the Box Office
by EG
Jigsaw was the top-grossing movie of the last weekend in October despite significantly falling short of expectations. Meanwhile, George Clooney's Suburbicon drew very few people to theaters, and most of those who did see the movie hated it. It all added up to the worst weekend in quite a while and put a cap on the worst box-office October in a decade.
Following a record September, the October box office was a bloodbath.
Revenue for the month won't crack $560 million, the worst showing in a decade after a string of movies underperformed domestically. Through Sunday, October ticket sales stood at $539.1 million, down a steep 13.4 percent from the same time period last year, according to comScore. The last time October revenue didn't cross $600 million, or $700 million, was in 2007.
The final weekend of the month was particularly brutal. Moviegoers already ambivalent about showing up to for the new titles on the marquee were easily distracted by Halloween parties and the World Series (to boot, Stranger Things 2 premiered on Netflix).
The malaise struck hard.
Case in point: George Clooney's upscale dramedy Suburbicon opened to a paltry $2.8 million from 2,046, the worst showing of any film Clooney has directed and a career low for star Matt Damon outside of All the Pretty Horses in 2000. The $25 million film, also starring Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, was skewered by critics before getting slapped with a D- CinemaScore by audiences.
It is also among the worst wide openings in Paramount's history. The studio has endured one box-office disappointment after another this year; last month, Darren Aronofksy's mother! opened to $7.5 million domestically for a total to date of $17.8 million. Globally, the horror film, starring Jennifer Lawrence, has earned $43 million.
Thank You for Your Service, from Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and partner Universal, didn't fare much better than Suburbicon after failing to drum up interest in America's heartland. The $25 million film, starring Miles Teller as an Iraqi war veteran suffering from PTSD, opened to $3.7 million from 2,054 locations. Universal and DreamWorks hosted dozens of screenings for members of the military and veterans, hoping to emulate the success of American Sniper.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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