Hold onto your seats, because the box office just got a jolt of adrenaline! Blumhouse is back with a vengeance, and Black Phone 2 is ringing up success with a staggering $26.5 million U.S. opening and $42 million globally. But here's where it gets intriguing: this win comes on the heels of a string of misses for the studio, most notably the costly flop of M3GAN 2.0. Directed by Scott Derrickson, the sequel not only exceeded expectations but also secured a solid B CinemaScore—a rare feat for the horror genre. And this is the part most people miss: Latinos, the most frequent moviegoers, made up a whopping 39% of the audience, proving once again their influence at the box office. With a modest $30 million budget, the film is already a financial triumph, thanks in part to Ethan Hawke’s chilling return as the serial killer Grabber. But let’s not forget the original Black Phone, which debuted in 2021 during the post-COVID cinema recovery and went on to become a sleeper hit, raking in over $161 million worldwide—before horror fatigue set in. Controversial question: Can Black Phone 2 reignite the horror genre’s box office dominance, or is this just a one-off success?
Meanwhile, Aziz Ansari’s R-rated comedy Good Fortune had a less-than-stellar debut, despite its star-studded cast featuring Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, and Sandra Oh. The $30 million film managed only an estimated $6.2 million domestically, falling short of expectations. With a B+ CinemaScore and a quirky plot about a scruffy guardian angel, the movie had all the ingredients for success—so what went wrong? Is it a case of mismatched marketing, or did audiences simply not connect with the humor? As the weekend wraps up, one thing is clear: while Black Phone 2 is celebrating, Good Fortune is left wondering where it all went awry. What’s your take? Did you catch either of these films? Let us know in the comments—we’re all ears!
