Tracking & Forecasts

5-Week Tracking & Forecasts: SMILE 2 and VENOM 3 Notes, Plus Early Outlooks for THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER and HERETIC

Photo Credits: Charlie Sarroff & Paramount ("Smile 2"); C. Kim Miles & Lionsgate ("The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"); Chung-hoon Chung & A24 ("Heretic"); Fabian Wagner, Sony, & Marvel ("Venom: The Last Dance")

This report also appears in Box Office Theory’s Substack newsletter.

Our look ahead into November continues this week with a brief analysis on key titles opening for the month’s second frame, plus updates on other upcoming fall releases.

Key Tracking Factors & Rationale:

  • The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has the early makings of a holiday sleeper with family appeal, a generationally popular source novel, faith-based roots, and a recognizable cast led by Judy Greer and Pete Holmes. The film’s preliminary comparison models are films such as Playing With Fire and Instant Family, as well as various faith-driven titles with the involvement of Kingdom Story Company and potential grassroots marketing among churches.
  • A24 is no stranger to delivering solid box office results with original thrillers. Social buzz for Heretic and Hugh Grant’s lead performance are already clicking in early marketing. The post-Halloween corridor isn’t known for consistently delivering similar genre breakouts, but this could standout among the indie faithful.
  • Sony and Crunchyroll will similarly aim for a targeted niche audience on the second November frame with OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom poised to attract anime fans. An IMAX and PLF footprint will further boost prospects.
  • Nearer term, pre-sales for Smile 2 and Venom: The Last Dance recently began with generally expected results. On the former front, horror sequels can be challenging as some often see diminished returns, but we remain generally optimistic given the film’s proximity to Halloween. As for Sony’s Marvel sequel, the franchise has a history of being back-loaded in the pre-sale window with strong walk-up business, so it could be another week or two before sales began show full potential or perhaps warrant any notable forecast adjustments.

5-Week Box Office Tracking & Forecasts
as of 10/3/24
(best viewed in Desktop mode; view in landscape mode on mobile to see full chart)

Release Date Title 3-Day (FSS) LOW-END Opening 3-Day (FSS) HIGH-END Opening 3-Day (FSS) TARGET Opening Forecast Domestic Total LOW-END Domestic Total HIGH-END Domestic Total TARGET Forecast
10/10/2024 Average Joe n/a n/a
10/11/2024 The Apprentice $4,000,000 $8,000,000 $5,500,000 (+38%) $9,500,000 $21,300,000 $17,900,000 (+38%)
10/11/2024 Chosen Family n/a
10/11/2024 The Man in the White Van n/a n/a
10/11/2024 My Hero Academia the Movie: You’re Next $5,000,000 $9,000,000 $6,500,000 (-19%) $6,700,000 $18,000,000 $11,400,000 (-19%)
10/11/2024 The Nightmare Before Christmas (2024 Re-Issue) $3,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,000,000 $6,000,000 $14,000,000 $9,000,000
10/11/2024 Piece By Piece n/a n/a
10/11/2024 Saturday Night $6,000,000 $11,000,000 $9,500,000 (-14%) $20,000,000 $47,000,000 $38,900,000 (-14%)
10/11/2024 Terrifier 3 $4,000,000 $8,000,000 $7,000,000 (-13%) $9,000,000 $20,250,000 $17,000,000 (-13%)
10/11/2024 We Live In Time (Limited) n/a n/a
10/17/2024 Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
10/18/2024 Goodrich n/a n/a
10/18/2024 Hocus Pocus (2024 Re-Issue) $1,500,000 $3,000,000 $2,000,000 $3,600,000 $9,000,000 $5,000,000
10/18/2024 Rumours $1,000,000 $4,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,500,000 $10,000,000 $6,000,000
10/18/2024 Smile 2 $25,000,000 $35,000,000 $29,000,000 (-6%) $58,000,000 $87,900,000 $67,400,000 (-6%)
10/18/2024 Stockholm Bloodbath n/a n/a
10/20/2024 Saw (20th Anniversary Re-Issue) (10/20 and 10/23 only) n/a n/a
10/23/2024 Saw (20th Anniversary Re-Issue) (10/20 and 10/23 only) n/a n/a
10/25/2024 Conclave $3,000,000 $7,000,000 $4,500,000 $10,000,000 $26,000,000 $18,000,000
10/25/2024 Venom: The Last Dance $87,000,000 $107,000,000 $95,000,000 $201,000,000 $235,000,000 $212,000,000
11/1/2024 Absolution n/a n/a
11/1/2024 Blitz n/a n/a
11/1/2024 Here $9,000,000 $14,000,000 $10,000,000 (-23%) $30,300,000 $59,500,000 $40,000,000 (-23%)
11/1/2024 Hitpig n/a n/a
11/1/2024 Juror #2 TBD TBD
11/1/2024 My Dead Friend Zoe n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
11/1/2024 A Real Pain (Limited) n/a n/a
11/1/2024 Weekend in Taipei n/a n/a
11/3/2024 John Wick (10th Anniversary) (11/3 and 11/6 only) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
11/6/2024 John Wick (10th Anniversary) (11/3 and 11/6 only) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
11/8/2024 72 Hours n/a n/a
11/8/2024 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $13,000,000 $34,000,000 $66,000,000 $48,000,000
11/8/2024 Heretic $8,000,000 $14,000,000 $11,000,000 $19,000,000 $41,000,000 $28,000,000
11/8/2024 OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom $3,000,000 $8,000,000 $5,000,000 $4,500,000 $15,200,000 $8,400,000
11/8/2024 Small Things Like These n/a n/a

All forecasts and tracking ranges above are reflective only of how the films are trending or expected to trend ahead of release. They are not final forecasts or predictions and are subject to revision at any time based on evolving market conditions and various circumstances that are factored into our modeling.