Well, it’s been a cold streak for a studio that has been deadly at racking up box-office weekends and records for newcomer films. Yes, WB cracked open the case for a 28-year-old sequel, Practical Magic 2, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, with “only” a $30 million debut instead of the $40 million-plus debuts it racked up multiple times last year. On this post-Labor Day weekend in 2025, The Conjuring: Last Rites finale opened with $84 million, leading to $178 million domestically and $499 million globally.
Perhaps that is now an indictment of Sandra Bullock’s drawing power, or a considerable downgrade, but here’s the kicker: do not make a sequel to a film that bombed almost three decades ago. Yes, the predecessor, a cult favorite, bombed with only $94 million globally on a $75 million budget. Unless there’s a curse to fix up this one, a majority of theatrical duds don’t tend to spawn breakout sequels, prequels, or spinoffs. And stars of yesteryear don’t exactly tug at the heartstrings for what should’ve not come about. IP can be good or bad; the trick is to learn what audiences want, not shareholders. No one asked for a sequel to this one.
In other news, and surprisingly keeping on the topic of Warner Brothers, Christopher Nolan told them to f*** themselves, as The Odyssey has now passed Jurassic World ($1.671 billion in 2015) as Universal Studios’ biggest global grosser of all time. It also passed $600 million domestically this weekend after 59 days in the box office loop and has now become the 12th-biggest movie ever. Wow, so it’s the third-biggest non-sequel/non-franchise in unadjusted global grosses behind James Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar. It will probably finish up its run around $1.75 billion, sliding comfortably into 11th place ahead of Inside Out 2.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day just missed the weekend to pass the unadjusted domestic lifetime total of Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($937 million) to become the highest-earning domestic film ever. We’ll probably have the official word tomorrow night or Tuesday morning that Spider-Man is more popular than Star Wars, The Avengers, and Avatar. Yes, it won’t top the two worldwide grosses of Endgame or Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi extravaganza, but it’s great business for Tom Holland/Zendaya.
Runner opened in fourth place with $6.432 million, a decent opening for Angel Studios’ release. Coyote vs. Acme earned $6.23 million in its third weekend; it is aiming for a $70 million global finish. Saban and Roadside Attractions’ Buddy earned $3.5 million in its third weekend. Wow, so that means it will pass The Invite ($26 million) to become this year’s top-grossing Sundance acquisition and pass Judy ($24 million in 2019), probably by Tuesday/Wednesday, to become Roadside Attractions’ third-biggest domestic earner.
Sony’s Insidious: Out of the Further has passed $60 million domestically and $155 million worldwide. It’s performing on par with its predecessors and is the IP folks should not be overlooking any further. Hope and The Uprising opened this weekend with $3.3 million and $3.25 million, respectively. And By Any Means earned $2.5 million in its second weekend.
Next weekend sees the release of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, The Weight, Tiny Fugitives, Without Blood, The Musical, and Last Train to Fortune.
