Box Office Showdown: ‘Haunting in Venice’ and ‘Nun II’ Neck and Neck for Top Spot in Post-Summer Slump
The box office race remains too close to call.
Kenneth Branagh’s latest installment, ‘A Haunting in Venice,’ inspired by Agatha Christie’s works, aimed to dominate the domestic box office in its debut. However, it is in a virtual tie with the holdover ‘The Nun II.’
Sunday estimates from New Line/Warner Bros. show ‘The Nun II’ narrowly lead with $14.7 million, while ‘Haunting in Venice’ from 20th Century Studios/Disney earns $14.5 million. With a mere $200,000 difference, industry experts consider it a draw until the final numbers arrive on Monday.
This time, Disney’s marketing strategy emphasized the horror elements over the murder mystery theme.
Paul Dergarabedian, Chief Box Office Analyst at Comscore, remarks, “Sunday estimates are just that – estimates. When two films are this close, it becomes more a matter of interpretation whether to call it a tie or a tight race. Regardless, the horror genre remains immensely popular, and hopefully, audiences will continue to flock to the big screen for more spine-chilling experiences in the coming weeks.”
‘The Nun II,’ a horror offering, saw a 55 percent drop in its second weekend, accumulating an estimated $56.5 million domestically in its first ten days. Internationally, it raked in an additional $30.1 million from 72 markets, pushing it past the $100 million mark globally, with a total of $158.8 million. Incomparable foreign markets, it outpaced all other titles in ‘The Conjuring Universe, second only to the original ‘The Nun.’
While ‘A Haunting in Venice’ met expectations upon its release, it experienced a somewhat muted start, requiring sustained audience interest. Despite facing an actors’ strike, which prevented the involvement of its stars in the final publicity push, the film benefitted from a significant turnout of younger adult viewers, the most dedicated demographic. Unfortunately, the traditional target audience of older moviegoers didn’t materialize as anticipated.
Internationally, where the franchise enjoys strong support, ‘Haunting in Venice’ opened to $22.7 million in its initial 51 markets, accumulating a global debut of $37.2 million.
In addition to directing, Branagh reprises his role as the iconic detective Hercule Poirot, starring alongside Camille Cottin, Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill, Kyle Allen, and Riccardo Scamarcio.
‘Haunting in Venice’ doesn’t lead by a wide margin compared to its predecessor, ‘Death on the Nile,’ which debuted with $12.8 million in February 2022, during the box office’s recovery phase. The sequel, delayed due to COVID-19, also faced challenges related to negative publicity surrounding star Armie Hammer (who doesn’t feature in the new film). The ensemble cast included Gal Gadot and Letitia Wright, but the film’s global earnings were relatively modest at $137.3 million.
20th Century, a Disney division, managed to keep ‘A Haunting’s budget at $60 million, compared to the last installment’s $90 million.
In 2017, Branagh’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ became a surprise hit, opening at $28.6 million domestically and eventually grossing over $350 million worldwide. All three films received a B CinemaScore, although ‘A Haunting’ garnered notably superior reviews.
In other top 10 highlights, Sony’s ‘The Equalizer 3’ secured third place with $7.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $73.7 million through its third Sunday and a worldwide total of $132.4 million.
Focus Features ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ continued to trail, dropping 53 percent in its second weekend to $4.7 million, accumulating a domestic total of $18.6 million.
Overall, post-summer moviegoing is slowing down. Notably, Greta Gerwig’s July blockbuster ‘Barbie’ maintained a top 5 position domestically, earning $3.4 million in its ninth weekend. Its global earnings have now reached an astonishing $1.41 billion.
Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ achieved a significant milestone by becoming the highest-grossing biopic ever at the global box office, surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ this weekend. The estimated worldwide earnings through Sunday for the Universal film stand at $912.7 million.
Meanwhile, Craig Gillespie’s ‘Dumb Money,’ chronicling the 2021 GameStop stock phenomenon fueled by individual investors influenced by social media, had a limited release this weekend. Sony initially planned a nationwide rollout on September 22 but opted for a slower approach due to the actors’ strike hindering promotional efforts.
‘Dumb Money’ features Paul Dano and Pete Davidson, with America Ferrera, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, and Anthony Ramos in supporting roles. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival, boasting an estimated opening weekend location average of $27,080.
