Thescreescore – The cinematic landscape has dramatically shifted as the autumn chill settles in, ushering out the sun-drenched dominance of summer blockbusters and welcoming a new era of spooky season supremacy at the domestic box office. After an unprecedented run, Marvel’s web-slinging sensation, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Christopher Nolan’s epic The Odyssey have been firmly pushed down the charts, making way for a formidable duo of Halloween-themed releases: the highly anticipated Resident Evil adaptation and the enchanting legacy sequel, Practical Magic 2.
Zach Cregger, known for his horror sensibilities in Barbarian and Weapons, has conjured a spectacular debut with his Resident Evil film. Starring Austin Abrams, the video game adaptation exploded onto screens on September 18th, seizing the coveted number one spot. Early projections from Sony Pictures Entertainment indicate a staggering $60 million three-day total, significantly outperforming earlier estimates. This triumph not only marks the best opening weekend for the entire Resident Evil franchise, eclipsing 2010’s Resident Evil: Afterlife ($26.6 million), but also sets a new personal best for Cregger, surpassing his 2025 hit Weapons ($43.5 million).
The shift began even earlier with Practical Magic 2, which reunited beloved stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman from the 1998 original. Debuting on September 11th, the witchy sequel initially dethroned Spider-Man: Brand New Day to claim the top position. While it has since gracefully ceded the number one spot to Resident Evil, Practical Magic 2 held strong in its second weekend, securing the number two position with an impressive $12 million, bringing its cumulative domestic total to $49 million.
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This powerful surge from the horror and supernatural genres has had a profound impact on the summer’s reigning champions. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which premiered on July 31st and enjoyed an extraordinary six consecutive weekends at number one – a record for the Marvel Cinematic Universe – now finds itself at number three. Despite its current $6.5 million weekend haul, the film boasts an astounding cumulative domestic gross of $944.5 million, cementing its place as the third highest-grossing movie in history. Similarly, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, a summer smash that opened on July 17th and has ascended to become the 12th highest-grossing film of all time, has been nudged out of the Top 3 for the first time in its tenth week, landing at number four with $4.9 million this weekend, pushing its total to $609 million.
Rounding out the domestic Top 5 is the animated-live action hybrid Coyote vs. Acme. Despite its tumultuous journey from a Warner Bros. tax write-off to acquisition by Ketchup Entertainment, the film continues to show remarkable resilience, maintaining its fifth position with a $4.3 million weekend and a cumulative $54.6 million in its fourth week, experiencing a modest 32.8% drop. The Alan Ritchson action-comedy Runner was the casualty of this chart reshuffle, falling from number four to number six with a $3.2 million haul.
The question now looms: can Resident Evil defy the typical horror trend of significant sophomore drops, often exceeding 60%? Zach Cregger’s Weapons managed to buck this trend last year with a mere 43.8% decline. If Resident Evil can replicate this resilience, it stands a strong chance against upcoming challengers like the Brad Pitt thriller Heart of the Beast and DreamWorks’ animated Forgotten Island.
Regardless of future weeks, the current box office narrative is undeniable. The resounding success of Resident Evil and Practical Magic 2 unequivocally signals the end of summer’s blockbuster reign and the triumphant arrival of fall’s spooky season, proving that audiences are more than ready to embrace the thrills and chills leading up to Halloween.
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