Box Office: ‘Passenger’ Crashes In Crowded Weekend With $9M

Focus Features’ Obsession is all anyone is talking about right now after the movie earned 30% more in its second weekend than it did during its opening weekend, landing at around $23M. Had the film not opened against some major heavy hitters, it likely would have taken the number-one spot and become an even bigger hit. Still, nobody’s complaining, especially with the movie now surpassing $55M.

Meanwhile, the biggest loser of the week is Paramount Pictures’ Passenger (read our review), which is getting squeezed between the massive success of Obsession, the release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu, and Michael, which continues to dominate the box office. On top of that, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is also holding strong, making theaters especially crowded right now.

The weather is finally improving, and people are spending more time outdoors rather than heading to theaters. Even so, Paramount Pictures has had a strong few years overall. Beyond the success of Scream, the studio also had the Smile franchise performing well, and Primate was another massive hit. They’ve been making smart decisions and releasing solid films.

Passengers initially received strong critical reception, though enthusiasm has cooled slightly heading into the weekend. It’s ultimately a middle-of-the-road horror thriller that feels like something out of the ’90s. While it doesn’t break new ground, it benefited from a strong marketing campaign and effective trailers. The movie opened to an estimated $8.7M… not a disastrous start, but far from the breakout success Paramount had hoped for heading into the weekend. It’s projected to earn $10.5M over the four-day holiday frame. Internationally, it added just $4.8M, bringing its global total to $13.5M.

Thankfully for the studio, Scary Movie arrives in a week, and that is expected to absolutely dominate the box office.

Passenger kicks off a few weeks into their van life adventure, where a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.