“Black Phone 2,” a sequel to Universal and Blumhouse’s hit 2022 slasher film, grossed $42 million at the worldwide box office in its first weekend of release.
These ticket sales included a more modest $15.5 million from 71 international territories as well as a significant $26.5 million from the United States and Canada. The top overseas openings were Mexico with $4.3 million, the United Kingdom and Ireland with $1.4 million, and Brazil with $1.2 million.
Directed by Scott Derrickson, “The Black Phone 2” follows the return of the deranged serial killer known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Initial ticket sales for the second film were slightly higher than those of its predecessor, which launched to $13 million overseas and $35.8 million worldwide in 2022. The first “Black Phone,” which cost $18 million, became a sleeper hit with $161 million worldwide. The sequel, which cost more than $30 million, should have no trouble justifying its budget. However, it needs to stay on the big screen beyond opening weekend to be a major return for Blumhouse. The horror empire struggled in 2025 with a series of failures, including “Wolf Man” and “M3GAN 2.0.” Another sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” is planned for December.
“Black Phone 2” was the only major new release this weekend at the international box office. Elsewhere, Disney’s sci-fi sequel, “Tron: Ares,” grossed $14.1 million in 52 markets, down about 50% since its debut. So far, the film has grossed $48.4 million overseas and $103 million worldwide after two weekends of release. That’s a decent number, especially for a franchise in its fifth decade – except Disney spent $180 million to produce and several million to promote the sequel, so “Tron: Ares” is shaping up to be a big money loser for the studio.
Another expensive film, Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “One Battle After Another,” added $11.8 million overseas, an impressive drop of just 21% from the previous weekend. The Warner Bros. release generated $100 million internationally and $162.5 million worldwide. It’s an impressive result for the original R-rated action comedy (which is likely to find itself in the awards race). However, it is likely that Warner Bros. ends its theatrical run in the red, having spent more than $130 million on production and $70 million on promotional efforts.
