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October Box Office Falls to 28-Year Low as Halloween Weekend Becomes Year's Worst

Analysts tie the slump to an empty release calendar, a Friday Halloween, plus World Series distraction, raising stakes for November tentpoles.

Overview

  • Domestic grosses for October reached about $425 million, the lowest October total since 1997 when excluding the pandemic shutdown year.
  • The Oct. 31–Nov. 2 frame generated roughly $48–49.8 million, which Comscore notes is the weakest non‑pandemic weekend since 1993.
  • Studios launched no significant new wide releases, leaving holdovers like Regretting You and Black Phone 2 to top the chart with about $8 million each.
  • Chainsaw Man: The Movie — Reze Arc provided a rare lift, while high‑profile titles underperformed, including The Smashing Machine and Disney’s Tron: Ares, which trades report is on track for heavy losses.
  • Theater owners now pin hopes on a packed late‑year slate — including Predator: Badlands, Wicked: For Good, Zootopia 2, and Avatar: Fire and Ash — to restore momentum, with results still uncertain.