A grindhouse, hokey-pokey horror feature to open the new year? The trend sends its warm regards after M3GAN, Escape Room, Insidious: The Last Key, Daybreakers, White Noise, Texas Chainsaw 3-D, The Grudge, and many more hit their respective marks (whether good or poor). Night Swim gets to join this (not so subtle) exclusive club because horror is a bankable theatrical genre, and folks need a new twist of refreshment once the holiday season fizzles out.

$12 million to open isn’t precisely lightning-in-a-bottle material, but it’ll do for the opening weekend. To be fair, reviews haven’t been entirely positive (including ours found here), and a C from CinemaScore is a lowball for drumming up further interest in why folks shouldn’t be more frightened of swimming pools. Meanwhile, Wonka continues to lead the pack at the domestic box office with $14.4 million in its fourth weekend, putting it at $164.6 million domestically and $465.8 million globally. This is the largest domestic earner since the Barbenheimer trend in the summer, and the eccentric chocolatier will surely pass $500 globally, possibly by next weekend if legs are still as reliable. $550 million is another potential milestone, especially as it hasn’t opened in South Korean markets yet.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom earned $10.6 million in its third weekend, allowing it to pass $100 million domestically and $334.8 million worldwide. The water fellow will pass the speedster to become DC’s highest domestic earner of 2023 and could hold on to make it past $400 million once it wraps up to become the biggest-earning DCEU film since Aquaman. Ouch, the irony.

Migration earned $10.25 million in its third weekend (a better hold than Sing 2 and is headed to pass $200 million worldwide), Anyone But You resurged with $9.5 million in its third weekend (giving the romantic comedy more buzz than ever), and The Boys in the Boat took in $6 million on its 2nd weekend (passing $30 million domestically). The Color Purple has dragged itself past $50 million domestically, collapsing much like Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, and won’t get any further nods (unless the Oscars seasons say something about it).

And A24’s The Iron Claw is holding well with almost $25 million domestically (and growing). Shall it be time for some more wrestling biopics to make their way to the screen?

Next weekend (MLK weekend) sees the release of The Book of Clarence, Mean Girls, The Beekeeper, Lift (on Netflix), and Role Play.