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SATURDAY AM UPDATE: The weekend's new releases are performing mostly as expected, but before we get to them we have to mention WB's Joker, which brought in an estimated $17 million on Friday, to kick off what is looking like a possible $60 million second weekend, signaling a drop that could be less than -40%. A strong performance and a clear sign this film is resonating with audiences.

This weekend saw the Warner Bros. DC Comics adaptation Joker deliver the largest October domestic opening weekend of all-time and the fourth largest opening ever for an R-rated feature. The film was the #1 movie domestically and overseas, kicking things off with a $234 million global launch.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Joker exploded out of the gates with an estimated $39.9 million Friday with expectations for the film now ranging anywhere from $87-95+ million for the weekend. The film received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences with the "under 35" crowd scoring it an "A-".

Universal finished atop the weekend box office yet again this year with their animated adventure Abominable, while also taking second position with Focus's Downton Abbey, now in its second weekend. Meanwhile, Roadside saw a strong performance from their release of Judy, delivering a top ten performance in moderate release, while holdovers such as Hustlers and It: Chapter Two held on strong in their third and fourth weekends respectively.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Universal's animated feature Abominable brought in an estimated $5.69 million on Friday as the film looks to deliver a $20+ million three-day performance. Opening day audiences gave the film an "A" CinemaScore.

It was a record weekend for Focus Features that saw Downton Abbey not only top the weekend box office, but it became the studio's largest opener ever, topping $30 million. The weekend's fellow new releases — Ad Astra and Rambo: Last Blood — delivered on expectations and are in a neck-and-neck battle for runner-up position and we'll have to wait for actuals to tell the full story on Monday afternoon.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Focus's Downton Abbey is off to a tremendous start, bringing in an estimated $13.8 million on Friday, which does include $2.1 million from Thursday night previews as well as an additional $2.2 million from previous sneak peek screenings. Studio expectations for the film's three-day weekend currently stand at $31 million, which would be a record opening for Focus, topping the $22.7 million opening for Insidious Chapter 3. The film also scored an "A" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

It was a mixed bag of a weekend for Warner Bros. which saw It: Chapter Two deliver a strong hold and retain the weekend's #1 spot at the box office, but their new release, The Goldfinch, bombed, delivering one of the worst openings ever for a wide release. Alternatively, STXfilms's Hustlers exploded out of the gates with the studio's largest opening in its five year history as well as star Jennifer Lopez's largest live-action opening of all-time.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: STXfilms' Hustlers is living up to the top end expectations and over performing to the tune of an exception $13.1 million with the studio currently anticipating a $32 million three-day debut. The film received a "B-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Warner Bros. and New Line's It: Chapter Two kicked off the fall box office season with a strong, $91 million debut. The performance easily topped the weekend box office, finishing ahead of the second place film by $85 million. While the performance trails the first film's $123 million opening back in 2017, it is still within studio expectations and ranks as the second largest horror opening of all-time while 2017's It remains to be the only horror film to ever open with more than $100 million.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Warner Bros. and New Line's It: Chapter Two brought in an estimated $37.4 million on Friday and is expected to deliver a $90+ million three-day debut. The opening day performance is approximately $13 million behind the first film, which saw Saturday's gross dip -11% and audiences seem to be responding to the second film in the same way they did the first film, giving it a "B+" CinemaScore, the same as the 2017 film.

This weekend sees the 2019 summer movie season come to a close with the second worst weekend of the year so far, in which the top twelve generated a combined $69.5 million. The summer performance currently ranks as the eighth largest summer of all-time, in which the domestic box office generated $4.22 billion, down ~4% compared to last year's summer total which actually saw the box office rise considerably compared to the dismal 2017 summer season.

As the summer movie season comes to a close, we're looking at what is likely to be the second worst weekend of the year so far. There are no major new wide releases, though there are a couple of moderate debuts in Don't Let Go and Bennett's War, yet both are likely to fall outside the top ten. That said, the landscape should be nicely cleared out for what should be a strong opening next week for Warner Bros. and New Line's It: Chapter Two as the fall movie season hopes to get off to a strong start.

Lionsgate and Millennium's Angel Has Fallen outperformed expectations with a strong #1 debut, nearly matching its predecessor and giving Lionsgate its second #1 film of the year after John Wick 3. Also over-performing was Sony and AFFIRM's Overcomer while Universal's Hobbs & Shaw debuted in China with the largest August opening ever in the market.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Lionsgate and Millennium's Angel Has Fallen debuted with an estimated $7.9 million on Friday and is looking to top pre-weekend expectations and lead the weekend with a $20+ million three-day. The film received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences, matching the CinemaScore for its two predecessors.

Universal scored a strong performance this weekend from their new R-rated comedy Good Boys, which out performed expectations and took the top spot at the weekend box office. The studio also scored a second place finish with Hobbs & Shaw over a weekend that saw yet another five new wide releases hit theaters. However, outside of Good Boys, the weekend's four other newcomers mostly struggled over the weekend, which includes WB's Blinded by the Light narrowly finding its way into the top ten while UAR's Where'd You Go, Bernadette fell short.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: The potential for a Good Boys over performance we suggested in our preview below is coming to life as the film followed up strong preview showing with an $8.3 million Friday (including $2.1 million in previews). Universal is anticipating the film will result in a $20.8 million three-day, giving the studio their third straight weekend #1 as they cross $1 billion at the domestic box office for the year. The film received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

It wasn't as close a race at the top of the weekend box office as we thought it might be heading into the weekend as Universal's Hobbs & Shaw held on much better than expected and easily retained the #1 spot for a second week in a row. As for the weekend's crowd of six new wide releases, CBS Films, eOne and Lionsgate's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark led the way with nearly $21 million, followed by a decent performance from Paramount's Dora and the Lost City of Gold while Trafalgar's release of Bring the Soul: The Movie appears to have eked its way into the top ten.

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Lionsgate's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is leading the weekend's crop of newcomers, bringing in an estimated $8.76 million on Friday and is currently expected to deliver a $20+ million three-day performance. The film received a "C" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

The Fast & Furious franchise has yet again delivered a #1 opener with the franchise spin-off Hobbs & Shaw taking the top spot at this weekend's box office. Overall the weekend showed improvement over the same weekend last year for the third straight week in a row and on top of Hobbs & Shaw, continued strong performances from The Lion King, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and the platform release of A24's The Farewell helped what has been a bit of a late summer surge at the domestic box office.