The Scariest Thing About Halloween 2025 Might Just Be The Box Office

The box office has been an up-and-down ride for years now, but things are about to get downright terrifying. Halloween is just around the corner and, for a great many folks out there, that means lots of good-natured fright. But for movie theaters, this year's All Hallows' Eve frame is looking scary in a bad way.

Because Halloween falls on a Friday this year, Hollywood has decided to release no new big studio movies over the weekend. The biggest releases will be the expansion of Yorgos Lanthimos' "Bugonia" starring Emma Stone, as well as the 40th anniversary re-release of "Back to the Future." Unfortunately, "Bugonia" is only expected to earn between $1.5 million and $5 million, while "Back to the Future" will pull in $4 to $6.5 million, per Box Office Theory.

Theaters will be otherwise left to survive on holdovers such as "Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere," "Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc," "Shelby Oaks," and "Regretting You," most of which are tracking in the over/under $20 million range. On a second weekend, depending on how well they hold and how the openings shake out, those movies can't expect to make any more than $10 million, give or take.

Netflix, meanwhile, will re-release its smash hit "KPop Demon Hunters" over the holiday after topping the box office with it back in August. While the streamer doesn't officially report box office numbers, there's a decent chance it'll win out again by default.

Then there's "Black Phone 2," which, even after a killer opening, will be headed into its third weekend of release by then. All told, we're looking at a situation where the number one movie may be lucky to eclipse $10 million, with most others hovering in the over/under $5 million range, if that. It's going to be bleak.

For what it's worth, Halloween rarely falls on a Friday and, when it does, it's not exactly a barn burner at the box office. The last time it happened was in 2014. That weekend, "Ouija" topped the charts in its second weekend with just $10.7 million, while Jack Gyllenhaal's thriller "Nightcrawler" opened to $10.4 million.

The difference, however, is that 13 different movies made at least $2 million that weekend, as there was a broader interest in general moviegoing at the time. "Annabelle" was still going relatively strong in the midst of its $257 million run, as were movies like "Gone Girl" and "John Wick." The domestic weekend, in total, still managed $95 million.

By contrast, look back to when "Novocaine" topped the charts with an anemic $8.8 million in March. It was arguably one of the worst box office weekends in decades, with the total domestic haul clocking in at under $52 million as several movies flopped. We can expect something similar over Halloween, as going to the movies for the sake of going to the movies just isn't as much of a thing anymore.

That's not to say that good things can't happen. Stone and Lanthimos' "Poor Things" was a $112 million, Oscar-winning smash. Maybe "Bugonia" will over-deliver. Perhaps "Shelby Oaks" will defy odds and become the next "Longlegs." It's not impossible, but I kindly doubt it, even though both movies have critics on their side. More likely, we need to brace for one of 2025's worst box office weekends overall. November and its greener pastures (namely, highly anticipated titles like "Predator: Badlands," "Wicked: For Good," and "Zootopia 2") can't get here soon enough.

"Bugonia" hits select theaters on October 24, 2025, before expanding nationwide.