When the horror histories of the 2010s are written, the decade will be associated with trauma metaphors the way the ‘80s are with slasher movies. And although it comes on the cusp of a new decade, the new Paramount wide-release horror movie “Smile” fits right in with its PTSD-induced kin. The difference here is that the monster is barely a metaphor at all: The demon, or evil spirit, or whatever it is—the movie is vague on this point—literally feeds on, and is spread by, trauma.
Parker Finn‘s debut feature Smile scared up a strong $22 million from 3,645 theaters to top the weekend chart. The horror pic started off with $8.2 million in theaters on Friday — including $2 million in previews. To boot, it cost just $17 million to make before marketing (it was originally intended for streaming) so will be a major profit generator, according to Hollywood Reporter.
“Smile” ranks as one of the better original horror openings of the year, beating out 20th Century Studios’ “Barbarian” ($10 million) and Sony’s “The Invitation” ($7 million). As the box office enters October, the horror genre will continue to take center stage with Universal’s “Halloween Ends” releasing in two weeks and hoping to cash in on the seasonal thirst for thrills and chills.
From Paramount Players and Temple Hill, Smile is about a therapist (Sosie Bacon) treating a graduate student (Caitlin Stasey) who recently witnessed a gruesome suicide. Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert and Kal Penn co-star.
The box office result for “Smile” is a frighteningly good haul, seeing as it cost a measly $17 million to produce and had originally been seen as a streaming release.
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“It’s honestly sensational,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount’s distribution chief. “I don’t like to use hyperbole, but this exceeded our wildest expectations.”
But “Smile” has been exceeding expectations throughout its production. Paramount opted to give the film a full theatrical rollout after it scored with audiences during test screenings. The company used some clever marketing tactics this week by strategically placing paid actors, with huge, creepy smiles plastered on their faces, behind home plate during televised Major League Baseball games. Social media users quickly noticed the unsettling fans, who wore “Smile” t-shirts, when the cameras zoomed in on batters stepping up to the plate, according to Variety.
Last weekend’s champ, “Don’t Worry Darling,” fell sharply in its second weekend, dropping 62%. The Warner Bros. thriller earned $7.3 million for a second place finish, bringing its domestic total to $32.8 million. Sony’s “The Woman King” finished third with $7 million, pushing its stateside haul to $46.7 million. Disney’s re-release of “Avatar” rounded out the top five, earning $4.7 million. By putting the James Cameron fantasy back in theaters, the studio is hoping to whet appetites for the December debut of the long-awaited return to Pandora, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
“Smile” is the latest hit in what has been a sizzling run for Paramount. Six of the studio’s last seven films have now opened in first place, including such box office winners as “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Lost City” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
“We’ve been very careful in our release dates and we’ve been very strong in our campaigns,” said Aronson.
The horror film stars Sosie Bacon, (daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) as a therapist who becomes haunted by horrifying, smiling hallucinations after witnessing one of her patients die by suicide. The cast also includes Kyle Gallner, Kal Penn, Jessie T. Usher, Caitlin Stasey, Rob Morgan and Robin Weigert. “Smile” attracted an audience that was 52% male, with the bulk of ticket buyers, some 68%, ranging in age from 18 to 34.
“Bros” didn’t represent a major financial risk for Universal, carrying a modest production budget of $22 million. The film earned rave reviews, but clearly struggled to connect with audiences. Its opening is about half of the $8 million to $10 million that Universal projected “Bros” would make.
Nearly 70 percent of the audience was between ages 18-34. The movie also played to an ethnically diverse audience (40 percent Caucasian, 32 percent Latino, 16 percent Black and 12 percent Asian/Other), according to PostTrak.
Smile is the latest box office win for Paramount, and particularly for its marketing department, led by Marc Weinstock (when at 20th Century Fox, he oversaw the maverick campaign for Deadpool). Smile‘s campaign went viral in recent days when Paramount hired several people to maintain the film’s signature creepy smile when sitting behind home base at several major league baseball games.
“It was the exclamation point on a great campaign,” says Paramount president of production Chris Aronson.
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Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
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