Blumhouse is back in action.

Scott Derricksons Black Phone 2delivered horror maestro Jason Blum a major win in opening to a better-than-expected $26.5 million domestically from 3,411 theaters and $15.5 million from 72 markets overseas for a global start of $42 million against a relatively modest $30 million production budget. The pics debut follows a string of misses for the Universal-based banner, culminating with the pricey flop ofM3GAN 2.0earlier this year.

The sequel easily came in No. 1 in North America ahead of Disneys tentpole Tron: Ares after being credited by critics for expanding the Black Phone universe and scoring strong audience exits, including a B CinemaScore (thats a great grade for the horror genre). Also notable: Latinos, the most frequent moviegoers in the U.S., made up the largest segment of the audience at roughly 39 percent. Internationally, Mexico led all markets with $4.3 million, a huge number for a horror title. The sequel returns Ethan Hawkeas the serial killer known as Grabber, and Mason Thames as Finn. In the follow-up, the sinister killer seeks vengeance on Finn from beyond the grave by menacing his younger sister, Gwen, who is played by Madeleine McGraw.

Heading into the weekend, Universal had the movies debut at $18 million, but prerelease tracking turned out to be right in predicting that the R-rated sequel would come in ahead of the first film.

Black Phone, opening in 2021 when cinemas were first recovering from COVID-19, started off with $23.6 million in North America on its way to turning into a sleeper hit, amassing more than $161 million in worldwide ticket sales (that was before horror fatigue struck at the box office).

Tron: Ares came in second in North America after tumbling more than 65 percent in its sophomore outing to an estimated $11.1 million from 4,000 cinemas for a 10-day domestic tally of $54.6 million. Overseas, the threequel earned another $14.1 million, including a dismal $2.8 million from its debut in China, for a foreign cume of $49.4 million and $103 million globally (the problem? Ares cost a net $180 million to produce).

LionsgatesAziz Ansari-directed comedyGood Fortune launched nationwide this weekend, but didnt find much gold despite good reviews and a star-packed cast that includes Seth Rogen, Ansari, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh andKeanu Reeves. The $30 million, about a scruffy guardian angel assigned to save someones soul, took in an estimated $6.2 million from 2,990 locations domestically for a third-place finish.

Warner Bros.One Battle After Anothercleared the $100 million mark internationally in its fourth weekend for a global total of $162.5 million. In North America, it grossed an estimated $4 million from 2,532 theaters for a fourth-place finish and domestic tally of $61.9 million. Overseas, the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed awards contender earned another $11.8 million from 71 markets for a foreign tally of $100.6 million.

Miramaxs crime comedy Roofman, starring Channing Tatum and Kirstin Dunst, rounded out the top five in its second weekend with $3.7 million from 3,379 theaters for a domestic total of $15.5 million and $16.4 million globally against a $19 million budget. Paramount has distribution duties in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.

Angel Studios Nazi holocaust drama Truth Treason, based on a true story, opened in sixth place with $2.7 million from 2,106 locations. It was the only new nationwide release to earn an A CinemaScore.

At the specialty box office, Luca Guadagninos psychological thriller After the Hunt struggled as it expanded from six to 1,238 theaters in its second weekend, grossing $1.6 million for a ninth-place finish. Guadagninos latest outing was expected to be an awards contender across top categories heading into the Venice Film Festival. However, when middling reviews suggested it was a rare miss for the acclaimed filmmaker, it changed the narrative in terms of best picture and best direction, although Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri have been singled out for their performances. Audiences are having similar reactions; when expanding this weekend, After the Hunt was slapped with a C- CinemaScore.

Tom Quinns team at Oscar-winning indie outfit has struck again: Iranian auteur Jafar Panahis awards contender and critically acclaimed It Was Just an Accident opened on Wednesday in three cinemas in New York and Los Angeles, and is reporting an estimated five-day, per-location average of $38,333. For the weekend itself, it reported the highest per-location average of any film, or $22,674. And the three day number all but matched Sony Picture Classics January release Im Still Here, which scored the best opening location average of the year so far for a foreign language film, or $22,741 from five theaters. (The latter opened over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but the three-day number of $22,742 is the stat that lives on in perpetuity). Its always possible Accident could come in higher when final weekend numbers are tallied and surpass Im Still Here.

This marks Panahis first movie in two decades since being released from prison by Iranian officials,who also finally lifted a ban allowing him to travel.

Following the films world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Accident won the coveted Palme dOr, marking Neons sixth consecutive Palme dOr win (the last was Anora, which swept the Oscars earlier this year, including the best picture category. Panahis new film has also been selected as Frances official submission for best international film at the 98th Oscar ceremony in 2026, but is also planning to campaign for best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best editing. And with awards season about to kick into high gear, tributes are being planned around the world to honor the filmmaker, or have already happened, such as a conversation with Martin Scorsese at the New York Film Festival (Panahi did encounter Visa delays because of the U.S. federal government shutdown and was late getting to the fest).

Mubis leading awards contender, The Mastermind, didnt disappoint in its launch in the U.S and posted the second-best per-location average of the weekend, or an estimated $20,84, as well as the strongest of director-writer Kelly Reicharts career, when opening in five theaters in New York and L.A. Mubi is reporting that many showings were sold out; a number of screenings were followed by QAs targeting awards voters. Loosely inspired by a famous art heist in the 1970s, the critically acclaimed film stars Josh OConnor as a struggling architect who decides to steal four Richard Drove paintings. Alma Haim, John Magaro and Hope Davis are among the films other stars. A key test will come next weekend when it expands wide.

Oct. 10, 1:30 p.m.: Updated with additional grosses.