With two newcomers failing to meet expectations, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle held the top spot despite its steep second weekend drop. Him had a so-so debut, but its opening was quite front-loaded, suggesting the future is not bright for the film. But the real loser this weekend was Sony's A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which had one of the worst debuts for any film playing at 3,000 theaters.

The Top 10 earned a combined $60.1 million this weekend, which was down 19.5% from last year, when Beetlejuice Beetlejuice repeated at #1 for a third weekend and Transformers One flopped.

Keeping the top spot, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle earned $17.3 million this weekend. That's a brutal 75% drop, although drops like these are common in anime films, especially fan-driven ones. Still, it's a steeper drop than Mugen Train (69.5%).

But with $104.7 million domestically, Infinity Castle has officially become the biggest anime title in the country, finally dethroning Pokémon: The First Movie ($85.7 million), although Pokémon is still ahead of it in terms of inflation ($166.7 million). As it loses IMAX and other PLF screens this week, it will continue dropping hard.

In second place, Universal's Him debuted with $13.2 million in 3,168 theaters. This debut is below other football-themed films, but it's hard to find comparisons given that this is a sports horror film, which is very rare to find.

The film cost $27 million, so a $13.2 million debut isn't bad. The problem, however, is how front-loaded it was: Friday ($6.4 million) represented a massive 49% of the weekend's gross, while Saturday and Sunday saw steep drops, falling to third place. That's why this debut is just so-so.

There's no doubt that Universal bet high on this, but primarily because of producer Jordan Peele's involvement. His name was plastered all over the posters and trailers, leading many to believe this was his new directorial effort. While that's misleading, you usually use your biggest asset as the selling point. And it worked; with the exception of Marlon Wayans (who isn't really a box office draw), the cast and crew are not familiar to the public. If Universal ditched Peele's name from the marketing, perhaps the film would miss $10 million.

When marketing began, they sold a very efficient premise: Whiplash meets football meets horror. That's a very interesting concept, especially when sport horror films are incredibly rare in theaters. As the film got closer to release, however, Universal leaned more into supernatural elements while highlighting even further Peele's involvement. That felt a bit desperate, but again, you use your best asset. Although in this case, the reviews did not help: it's sitting at a very poor 29% on RT. Considering Peele's producing credits are often well-received, that was a huge red flag.

According to Universal, 51% of the audience was male, and 64% was 25 and over. Critics slammed the film, and unfortunately, the audience agreed: they gave it a horrible "C–" on CinemaScore, even for horror that's bad. With poor word of mouth and a front-loaded debut, it's clear the film is gonna fall off a cliff very quickly. There's a very strong chance it will finish below $30 million domestically. And that spells flop territory, as football isn't popular outside America (check the overseas section for this film).

After its horrible second weekend drop, The Conjuring: Last Rites had another rough drop, thanks to Him. This time, it fell 52%, earning $12.2 million this weekend. The film has amassed $150.5 million, officially becoming the biggest film in the franchise. If it continues dropping like this, it might miss $180 million.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale added $6.4 million this weekend. That's a brutal 65% drop, far worse than any of the prior films. Through 10 days, the film has earned $31.7 million, and it's now guaranteed to miss $50 million domestically.

Despite some horror competition, The Long Walk held very well on its second weekend. It dipped 47%, adding $6.2 million. Pretty good, considering 50% or more is usually the norm. Through 10 days, the film has made $22.6 million, and it should finish with around $35 million if it keeps holding well.

Debuting in sixth place, Sony's A Big Bold Beautiful Journey flopped with an anemic $3.2 million in 3,330 theaters. That's the sixth worst debut for any film playing at over 3,000 theaters. Incredibly depressing fact: Margot Robbie's other film, Babylon, is also the eighth worst debut ($3.6 million in 3,343 theaters). Which means she has starred in the two worst debuts at 3,300 theaters. It's also the second worst wide debut for Colin Farrell, only ahead of Voyagers ($1.3 million).

This debut also translates to a pathetic $977 per-theater average. If each theater was playing this film in 5 screenings at an average $11.31 ticket price, that means that there were just 5 people at each screening. Sony bought the film for $50 million, setting it as a $45 million production. Yet the film couldn't open to 10% of that figure. That's one of the worst ROI debuts for a wide release. How could it fare this badly?

Romance films are definitely profitable. But mixing romance with fantasy is a niche market; some people don't like that combination. And the concept (doors taking the characters on a journey to the past) just didn't connect with audiences. Fantasy dramas are just difficult to pull off, especially at the box office.

Sony had the film set for May, but they decided to move it to this weekend, hoping to capitalize on weak competition. But the film simply lacked buzz compared to other titles this month. And while Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell are recognizable names, they're not exactly huge draws: Robbie has starred in a lot of flops prior to Barbie, and Farrell has been part of many panned flops for the past 20 years. So their presence doesn't guarantee success (then again, who does?). But the real nail in the coffin was the reviews. Adult dramas need acclaim just to stand a chance, but the film's poor 37% on RT dissuaded those interested from checking out.

According to Sony, 59% of the audience was female, and 76% was 25 and over. They gave it a poor "B–" on CinemaScore, quite rough for a romance title. With such a poor debut, zero buzz and incoming competition, the film will not last long in theaters. It would be a surprise if the film made it past $10 million domestically. That's absolutely horrible.

In seventh place, Angel Studios' The Senior earned just $2.6 million in 2,405 theaters. That's one of the worst debuts for a film playing in those theaters. Even with an "A" on CinemaScore, it will disappear quickly from theaters.

The 30th anniversary re-release of Toy Story dropped 59%, earning $1.4 million. That takes its lifetime gross to $198.4 million.

In ninth place, Fathom Events' re-release of Howl's Moving Castle earned $1.4 million this weekend. That takes its lifetime total to $10.5 million.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Fathom Events' Sight & Sound Presents: NOAH Live!, which made $1.3 million from 933 theaters.

Outside the Top 10, Weapons dropped 54% and added $1.2 million this weekend. That takes its domestic total to $149.7 million.

Freakier Friday dropped 46% for a $1.1 million weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $92.9 million, and it's now certain to miss $100 million domestically.

MUBI expanded The History of Sound to 552 theaters, but it could only muster $309,072. It's unlikely it can perform much better than this.

OVERSEAS

It is official: with $555 million worldwide, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle has become the biggest anime title in history, dethroning Mugen Train. It came from $36 million overseas this weekend, with big debuts in France ($8.6M) and Germany ($8.2M). The biggest markets are Japan ($269M), South Korea ($37.3M), Taiwan ($25M), Mexico ($15.1M), Hong Kong ($12.4M), India ($8.1M), the UK ($7.5M), and Indonesia ($7.3M). By next week, it should cross $600 million.

The Conjuring: Last Rites added $28.3 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $399.3 million (so damn close man). The best markets are Mexico ($26.4M), the UK ($20.3M), Brazil ($15.3M), France ($14.6M) and Germany ($12.7M). While it won't hit $500 million, it should still safely hit $450 million worldwide.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale added $8.3 million overseas, for a $59.4 million worldwide total. Its best markets are the UK ($13.9M), France ($2.6M), Australia ($2.4M), Netherlands ($1.9M) and Finland ($1.2M). It still has some markets left.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey also had horrible news in the rest of the world. It debuted with just $4.5 million overseas, for a very poor $7.7 million worldwide total. Even though that's just 42 markets, that's still an underwhelming debut and doesn't point to a bright future.

Him debuted in 25 markets, but it could only earn an abysmal $258K, for a very underwhelming $13.5 million worldwide debut. The result is not surprising; football is not popular outside America, so films focused on that lean heavily on the domestic side. The only markets where it has a chance to perform solidly are Mexico, the UK and Brazil (markets where the NFL is popular), all of which open in October. But don't expect any of them to save the film.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

Movie Release Date Studio Domestic Opening Domestic Total Worldwide Total Budget The Naked Gun Aug/1 Paramount $16,805,560 $52,647,396 $101,847,396 $42M Nobody 2 Aug/15 Universal $9,251,190 $21,604,985 $39,299,926 $25M

Paramount's The Naked Gun has closed with $52 million domestically and $101 million worldwide. Not exactly a smash hit, but not a bad amount. Especially considering how comedies are struggling in theaters, and how people were hesitant over having someone replace Leslie Nielsen here. But with such good reception, there's clearly some interest here. If it makes a killing on home media, it should spawn sequels.

Nobody was interested in Nobody 2, which closed with just $21 million domestically and $39 million worldwide. Somehow, it managed to earn less than the original, which opened in far worse conditions. Perhaps it's a sign that there's not much interest in this franchise.

THIS WEEKEND

Three newcomers arrive in wide release.

The big release is WB's One Battle After Another, the newest film from Paul Thomas Anderson. Headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio, it follows a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue the daughter of one of their own after an enemy resurfaces. The film has enjoyed incredible reviews (97% on RT, 96 on Metacritic) and WB even secured IMAX screenings for the film. WB is certainly enjoying an incredible streak at the box office. But with the exception of Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood, PTA's films are known for flopping at the box office. On its advantage, this is his first film playing at more than 3,000 theaters and securing PLF screenings. But it's still carrying a high $130 million budget, which means it's gonna need over $300 million worldwide just to break even. Pressure is very high on this one. If the opening weekend begins with a "2", that's definitely gonna be a very disappointing figure. It'll need to make a big first impression.

DreamWorks is also releasing Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie, a continuation of the Netflix series. There aren't many options for kids right now, given that The Bad Guys 2 is almost 2 months old and on its way out of theaters. Perhaps it can surprise.

And Lionsgate is also releasing The Strangers – Chapter 2, almost one year and a half after Chapter 1 hit theaters. Despite its poor reception, it still made $48 million. But with such a gap and very little good will for this "trilogy", it's very unlikely it can reach those numbers.

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