Vince Vaughn’s killer comedy Freaky leads at the box office two weeks in a row with $1.2 million

Vince Vaughn’s body-switch film Freaky was the top attraction at the weekend box office for the second week in a row.

The serial killer comedy earned $1.2 million against mostly anemic grosses, according to Variety.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has decimated the motion picture exhibition industry, and this week featured numbers from only 2,800 theaters in North America, compared to 3,400 last weekend.

Theaters in some locations have been forced to close, and theaters in major markets including Los Angeles and New York have been shut down for months.

Others have opted to close due to poor ticket sales and to cut their losses.

Many viewers continue to be weary of returning to theaters until a coronavirus vaccine is available due to the US’ botched response to the pandemic.

Though a vaccine is expected to be available starting in December, it will likely only be available to healthcare workers and first responders, with seniors and people with health complications following. 

Widespread distribution of a vaccine isn’t expected to be accomplished until mid- to late 2021.

‘With the continuing surge of the virus this fall, another round of lockdowns and curfews are impacting theaters on a regional basis,’ said Shawn Robbins, Box Office Pro’s chief analyst.

‘Business is down sharply from last weekend as a result of temporary closures, even for films that had proven to hold quite well over the past few months. While the encouraging news of vaccines on the horizon remains a light at the end of the tunnel for the industry, this weekend’s dip at the box office is an expected reminder of the endurance that will be required to push through a very challenging holiday and winter season.’

The number two film at the box office was the Robert De Niro comedy The War With Grandpa, which also stars Uma Thurman, Jane Seymour and Christopher Walken.

De Niro plays the eponymous grandfather, who moves in with his daughters family at her request, only to start a competition with his grandson over who gets to live in his bedroom.

The film has received mostly negative reviews so far, a far cry from De Niro’s critically acclaimed work on The Irishman.

The film earned $737,067 at 1,688 theaters, for a seven-week total of $16.2 million.

The Kevin Costner and Diane Lane–starring thriller Let Him Go was close behind with $710,000 at 1,907 theaters, for a total of $7.9 million after more than two weeks.

The horror film Come Play was the fourth-highest grossing film of the weekend with $510,000.

Disney had some success with its strategy of rereleasing older films, as the 1994 Tim Allen Christmas comedy The Santa Clause earned $481,000.

The movie took home $190 million worldwide during its initial run. 

The Liam Neeson thriller Honest Thief has proven to be persistent with weekend earnings of $452,000, for a total of $13 million.

The Jackie Chan action film Vanguard earned $44 million in China after being released there in late September, but it only took in $400,000 at the US box office.

Guy Pearce starred in the historical wartime drama The Last Vermeer as a real-life art forger who bilked the Nazis out of millions of dollars by selling them forged Vermeer paintings.

The film earned only $225,000 at 912 locations in its first week.

Christopher Nolan’s Tenet has also shown itself to have some staying power, though its total box office haul has been a disappointment.

The film earned $360,000 at 864 theaters this weekend, for a $56 million domestic total.

However, the film has been a bigger success internationally, where the coronavirus is more under control, and its expected to earn $300 million against a $200 million budget this week.

The mind-bending thriller will be arriving on digital and home video formats on December 15, while the upcoming superhero film Wonder Woman 1984 will open on the streamer HBO Max on December 25 to boost subscription numbers for the struggling service and to avoid empty theaters.