Archive · 3 Nov 2025
Slow Halloween Box Office Sees 'Regretting You' and 'Black Phone 2' Vie for Top Spot
This Halloween weekend, movie theaters didn't have a lot of big new hits.
Because Halloween was on a Friday and there was a baseball championship game, fewer people went to see movies.
Even the top movies didn't make much money, with none earning over $10 million.
Two movies, 'Regretting You' and 'Black Phone 2', were so close in ticket sales that their studios thought they were in first place.
In the end, 'Regretting You' was reported as the winner.
This year's October was also one of the slowest months for movie ticket sales in a long time, not counting when the pandemic first started.
People are hoping for more popular movies to come out soon, especially closer to Thanksgiving.
The Halloween box office weekend was slow, with no film earning more than $10 million.
Paramount's 'Regretting You' and Universal's 'Black Phone 2' were neck-and-neck for the No. 1 spot, with 'Regretting You' ultimately taking the lead with an estimated $8.1 million.
October 2024 experienced one of the slowest box office performances in over 25 years, with total ticket sales of $443 million.
Re-releases like 'Back to the Future' and films like 'Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc' and 'Bugonia' also charted in the top 10.
Industry experts cited the holiday falling on a Friday and the World Series as contributing factors to the sluggish weekend.
- Who
- Paramount Pictures ('Regretting You'), Universal ('Black Phone 2', 'Back to the Future'), Netflix ('KPop Demon Hunters'), Sony Pictures/Crunchyroll ('Chainsaw Man'), Focus Features ('Bugonia'), and others.
- What
- A sluggish Halloween weekend box office with a close race for the No. 1 spot between 'Regretting You' and 'Black Phone 2'. October proved to be one of the slowest months for movie theaters in over 25 years.
- When
- The Halloween weekend, with final domestic figures to be released Monday.
- Where
- U.S. and Canadian theaters.
- Why
- Studios avoided releasing major new films due to the holiday falling on a Friday, combined with the World Series also competing for audience attention.
- Overall Weekend Revenue (Est.)
- Below $10 million for top films
- Top Earning Film
- 'Regretting You' ($8.1 million est.)
- Second Place
- 'Black Phone 2' ($8 million est.)
- October 2024 Total Ticket Sales
- $443 million
- October 1998 Total Ticket Sales
- $455.5 million
- October 2020 Total Ticket Sales
- Lowest in over 25 years (excluding pandemic)