This weekend, two horror films, "A Haunting In Venice" and "The Nun 2," had a close race for the No. 1 spot at the U.S. box office, according to data from Box Office Mojo. However, neither film brought in significant earnings as movie-going slowed down, making this the second worst weekend at the box office this year.
"The Nun 2" earned an estimated $14.73 million at theaters across the country, a decrease from its debut last weekend, which totaled $32.6 million. On the other hand, "A Haunting in Venice," an Agatha Christie-inspired movie featuring a star-studded cast including Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, and Tina Fey, closely followed "The Nun 2" with $14.5 million in its debut weekend.
In third place was "The Equalizer 3," an action film starring Denzel Washington, which brought in $7.24 million during its third weekend in theaters.
Both top films this weekend are not the first of their kind. "The Nun 2" is a sequel to "The Nun" and a spin-off of "The Conjuring," while "A Haunting in Venice" is the third movie in Kenneth Branagh's series of Christie-inspired films, with the previous one being "Death on the Nile."
This weekend's box office was notably slower compared to previous weekends, with a gross total of just over $62 million, marking it as the second-slowest weekend of the year. This decline in movie attendance is seen as a sign of the end of the summer season.
In other box office news, Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" became the highest-grossing biopic, surpassing the record previously held by the 2018 film "Bohemian Rhapsody." "Oppenheimer" has earned an estimated worldwide total of $912.7 million through Sunday, while "Bohemian Rhapsody" made just over $910 million worldwide.
One surprising fact is that "The Nun 2" saw a 55% drop in sales from its first to second weekend, which is actually considered strong for a horror film. Typically, horror films experience a drop of 60% or more in their second weekend. Although "The Nun 2" had a strong opening weekend, it did not surpass the debut of "Scream VI" in March.
Overall, this weekend's box office performance reflects a slowdown in movie attendance and highlights the continued success of established film franchises and biopic films.