Friday Box Office: ‘Eternals’ Wounds ‘Dune’ As ‘My Hero Academia’ Plunges 85%

In holdover news for Friday, Dune lost most of its prized IMAX and PLF screens to Eternals. As such, that it “only” dropped 54% on Friday ($2.25 million) is almost good. However, A) the numbers still aren’t that hot and B) almost everything else had much better holds compared to last Friday. Nonetheless, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, which already has a sequel set for October 20, 2023, will gross around $7.1 million (-54%) in weekend three for an $83.5 million 17-day total. Barring an awards season revival, this one will still struggle to top $100 million domestic.

No Time to Die earned another $1.72 million (-28%) on Friday for a likely $5.78 million (-25%) fifth-weekend gross, bringing its 31-day cume to $143 million. If it continues to hold as such (and there’s nothing else of its ilk between now and late-December), it might indeed end up on par (sans inflation) with Die Another Day ($160 million in 2002), Casino Royale ($167 million in 2006) and Quantum of Solace ($168 million in 2008). It has easily cleared the $616 million global cume of Casino Royale, making it the third-biggest 007 movie in raw worldwide grosses behind Spectre ($881 million) and Skyfall ($1.1 billion).

Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage earned another $1.175 million (-27%) on its sixth Friday for a likely $4.22 million (-27%) weekend and $197 million cume. It’ll pass $200 million domestic sometime next week, with two out of three “pandemic-era” $200 million earners (alongside Shang-Chi and Bad Boys For Life) belonging to Sony. Spider-Man: No Way Home will be the third, so we’ll see if anything else (Enancto, Sing 2, Matrix 4, etc.) can join the club. The $110 million-budgeted sequel has cleared $400 million worldwide without a penny from China.

The surprisingly good animated Ron’s Gone Wrong (a fine kid-friendly riff on how social media has replaced rather than supplemented conventional human-to-human relationships) earned $831,000 (-27%) for a likely $2.86 million (-24%) weekend and $16.8 million 17-day total. It’s a commercial flop for sure, but I’m glad it’s somewhat sticking around. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch earned $819,000 (-25%) on Friday for a likely $2.49 million (-4%) third-weekend gross and $8.36 million 17-day total. With a hold like that, even adding 400 theaters, it may at least reach the $17-$24 million likes of Rushmore and The Life Aquatic *if* it ends up in the Oscar race.

Halloween Kills dropped like a rock after Halloween. The slasher sequel earned $680,000 (-73%) on Friday for a $2.2 million (-75%) weekend and $89.5 million domestic cume. It’s not making it to $100 million domestic, but it’s still an unmitigated smash hit. Alas, last week’s newbies all dive-bombed. Antlers will earn $1.93 million (-55%) for a miserable $7.53 million ten-day cume, while Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho will earn $1.84 million (-56%) for a tragic $7.7 million ten-day total. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission grossed $450,000 (-85%) on Friday for a $1.51 million (-76%) weekend. Still, Funimation is more than fine with a $9.7 million ten-day cume for this anime import.