‘Smile 2’ scares up ticket sales in box-office debut

“Smile 2” was the No. 1 movie this weekend with ticket sales of $23 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The sequel to the 2022 horror flick from Paramount (NASDAQ:PARA) played on 3,619 screens in the United States and Canada.

In second place was “The Wild Robot” in its fourth weekend with $10.1 million. The feature from Universal (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and DreamWorks Animation has grossed more than $100 million in North America.

With Halloween coming up at the end of the month, scary movies were popular among moviegoers. “Terrifier 3,” the latest installment about a demon clown, was the No. 3 movie in its second week with $9.3 million to lift its total to $36.2 million.

The week ahead brings a major studio comic book movie with “Venom: The Last Dance” and a potential awards-season favorite with the papal thriller “Conclave.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Smile 2,” $23 million.

2. “The Wild Robot,” $10.1 million.

3. “Terrifier 3,” $9.3 million.

4. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” $5 million.

5. “We Live In Time,” $4.2 million.

6. “Joker: Folie à Deux,” $2.2 million.

7. “Piece by Piece,” $2.1 million.

8. “Transformers One,” $2 million.

9. “Saturday Night,” $1.8 million.

10. “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” $1.1 million.