Terminator: Dark Fate (review) had an abysmal box office opening despite many critics calling it the best since James Cameron’s Judgment Day. The Tim Miller-directed followup that retcons all other sequels won the weekend with an estimated $29M, lackluster considering expectations. Even worse, and unlike Terminator Genisys, it looks like China won’t be saving the film from its dark fate.

Tencent, which provided 10% co-financing, is handling distribution in China, explains TheWrap who added that the film performed well below expectations in China with just $28 million grossed. With $44 million grossed in other overseas territories, the global opening for Dark Fate stands at $101.9 million (Exhibitor Relations pegs it at $94M worldwide).

The site adds that the silver lining for Paramount is that it is only on the books for 30% of the film’s $185 million budget. Skydance and 20th Century Fox each provided 30% co-financing with Fox handling overseas distribution.

No matter, this is hugely disappointing on all fronts and could spell the end of the franchise for good.

Two weeks ago, Columbia Pictures’ Zombieland: Double Tap (review) opened to an estimated $26.72M domestically. This is on par with the 2009 Zombieland that opened to $24.7M. The difference here is double the budget with a reported $40M spent. With the film adding another $7.3M domestic and $7M overseas this weekend, it’s currently sitting at approximately $86M globally. I previously wrote that Double Tap could hit $100M worldwide, which would be enough for the sequel to break even.

Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin return in Ruben Fleischer‘s sequel that also introduces Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch and Rosario Dawson.

In this next installment, through comic mayhem that stretches from the White House and through the heartland, the zombie slayers must face off against many new kinds of zombies that have evolved since the first movie, as well as some new human survivors. But most of all, they have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family

Speaking of the $100M landmark, The Addams Family (read our review), a prequel of sorts that tell the origins of the family moving into their spooky mansion, had another impressive showing. The animated retelling added another $8.4M for a domestic take of $85M. With $11M reported internationally (and more to come this weekend), $100M is all but certain on a film that cost just $25M. This is a massive hit and, as I reported a few weekends ago, a sequel is on the horizon (dated for 2021).

In the film, Charlize Theron voices Morticia Addams and Oscar Isaac is voicing Gomez Addams, with Chloe Grace Moretz as Wednesday Addams. The cast also includes Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley Addams, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, Bette Midler as Grandmama, Allison Janney as Margaux Needler, and Elsie Fisher as Parker Needler, the daughter of Margaux.

Warner Bros. gutsy new take on Joker (read our review), the Todd Phillips-directed spinoff that stars Joaquin Phoenix as the title character, continues to be a smash, adding $13M more domestically and $37M overseas. Sitting at $934M globally, $1B is currently in sight – there is no world in which we don’t get some sort of “sequel” out of Phillips and Warner Bros.

Disney’s PG horror-adjacent Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (review) that also starred Angelina Jolie in the title role added $12.1M domestic and $40M more overseas.  Carrying a reported budget of $185M (wiki), it has a long way to go to break even, although I’m sure Disney could care less given that this will be solid content for their soon-to-launch Disney+ app. The first film managed over $750M globally, but the sequel really “only” has to make $500M+ to break even. It currently sits at $383M worldwide.

In specialty releases, The Witch director Robert Eggers‘ The Lighthouse (review) added $2M in 978 theaters. It currently sits at only $7M. The film stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, pictured below, as two lighthouse keepers losing their grip on reality.

Also, Neon’s critically acclaimed Parasite (review) added $2.6M for a total of $7.5M in only 461 theaters. Impressive for a foreign language specialty release. Bong Joon-ho’s film follows the all-unemployed Ki-taek’s family who takes a peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

Lastly, André Øvredal‘s Guillermo del Toro-produced Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was released back in 1,500 theaters in the States last weekend through Halloween in hopes of surpassing $100M. While it didn’t crack the landmark, the $96M global take is still an impressive total for the film that came out of the gates slow. A sequel is possible, although the closing of CBS Films could impact any movement.

In Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, “It’s 1968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind…but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time—stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah’s terrifying tome.”

That’s it for Halloween 2019! How many of these films did you catch in theaters? What did you think of them?