Theater counts: The Nun II edges out Expend4bles to remain this week’s widest release

September 21, 2023

For the second consecutive week, The Nun II leads the way as the most accessible film in North America. Despite losing 207 locations, the horror flick narrowly outpaces newcomer Expend4bles, by retaining a solid 3,536 theaters. The second installment in The Nun franchise has been in a running battle throughout the week at the box office with newcomer, A Haunting in Venice, but will likely face a stiffer challenge entering its third week.

As the fourth in The Expendables film series, Expend4bles brings back a splendid cast of action veterans, reprising their roles from previous Expendable films. Debuting in 3,518 cinemas, the film comes nine years after The Expendables 3, which turned up just over $39 million at the domestic box office during its nine-week run. The most recent addition hopes to add substantially to the $800+ million worldwide total obtained by the first three installments. The Scott Waugh-directed film opened last weekend in China and pulled in $10.74 million, narrowly squeaking out a win vs a plethora of local titles.

Also opening in wide release this week is the supernatural-horror feature, It Lives Inside. Releasing in 1,985 locations, the film follows Sam, who rejects her Indian culture and family to fit in at school, but eventually must come to terms with her heritage in order to defeat a demonic spirit. The movie is the latest from Neon Films and stars Megan Suri, who gained popularity in the TV sitcoms Modern Family and Fresh Off the Boat.

After opening in just eight theaters last week, Dumb Money expands to 616 venues this week, and will be expanding wider on September 29th. The David-vs-Goliath story has turned up a very respectable $296k in its opening six-day frame.

Rounding out the top five this week is A Haunting in Venice, keeping with its opening count of 3,305 theaters as it enters its second week. Next up is The Equalizer 3, occupying the fourth place spot with 3,270 locations, and lastly, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, showing in 3,062 venues.

Once again we see a long list of limited releases making their way into theaters this week. The largest is the latest from IFC Films with French thriller, The Origin of Evil. Making its way into 206 cinemas, the film follows a woman who is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal as the battle over her estranged father’s massive estate reveals him to be more than the genial patriarch she’d assumed. Other films making their theatrical debut are documentaries, The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, and Neither Confirm Nor Deny, as well as the Chinese fantasy film, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, which will arrive on both traditional and IMAX screens.

Looking ahead to next week we see three new wide releases make their theatrical debuts, in addition to the wider expansion of Dumb Money. The Creator and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie are expected to arrive in 3,600 and 3,500 theaters respectively, while Saw X looks to begin in about 3,100 movie houses.

Theater Counts for September 22

Estimates for September 29

Filed under: Theater Counts, The Nun