‘Regretting You’ and ‘Black Phone 2’ battle for top spot during slow Halloween box office
‘Regretting You’ movie poster (Paramount Pictures)
Regretting You and Black Phone 2 were neck and neck for the top spot at the Halloween box office.
As of Sunday evening, Regretting You was in the top spot with $8.1 million in its second week of release, with horror flick Black Phone 2 close behind with $8 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Coming in at #3 was last week’s box office champ, the anime film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc with $6 million. Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters was back in theaters this week and took the #4 spot with $5.3 million.
There were no major new releases this week, but a 40th anniversary rerelease of Back to the Future managed to crack the top 10 at #6, bringing in $4.7 million.
Here are the top-10 films at the box office: 1. Regretting You — $8.1 million 2. Black Phone 2 — $8 million 3. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc — $6 million 4. KPop Demon Hunters — $5.3 million 5. Bugonia — $4.8 million 6. Back to the Future (40th anniversary) — $4.7 million 7. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere — $3.8 million 8. Tron: Ares — $2.8 million 9. Stitch Head — $2.1 million 10. Good Fortune — $1.4 million
Jimmy Kimmel appears on his show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ (Randy Holmes/Disney)
Broadcast groups Nexstar and Sinclair have announced they are ending their preemptions of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The broadcast groups, which own a combined total of around 60 ABC affiliate stations, according to their websites, both announced Friday afternoon that the show will return to airwaves on the affiliate stations starting Friday evening.
In a statement, Sinclair said, “Our objective throughout this process has been to ensure that programming remains accurate and engaging for the widest possible audience.”
It added, “We take seriously our responsibility as local broadcasters to provide programming that serves the interests of our communities, while also honoring our obligations to air national network programming.”
The company added that during the preemption, it “received thoughtful feedback from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders representing a wide range of perspectives.”
“We have also witnessed troubling acts of violence, including the despicable incident of a shooting at an ABC affiliate station in Sacramento,” Sinclair continued, saying “these events underscore why responsible broadcasting matters and why respectful dialogue between differing voices remains so important.”
The company said it proposed suggestions to ABC moving forward, including “measures to strengthen accountability, viewer feedback, and community dialogue, including a network-wide independent ombudsman.”
According to the statement, ABC has yet to adopt the measures. Sinclair said it believes “such measures could strengthen trust and accountability.”
It added, “While we understand that not everyone will agree with our decisions about programming, it is simply inconsistent to champion free speech while demanding that broadcasters air specific content.”
Nexstar released a statement on Friday, announcing the return of Kimmel’s show to its airwaves and saying the company “remains committed to protecting the First Amendment while producing and airing local and national news that is fact-based and unbiased and, above all, broadcasting content that is in the best interest of the communities we serve.”
The statement continued, “We stand apart from cable television, monolithic streaming services, and national networks in our commitment — and obligation — to be stewards of the public airwaves and to protect and reflect the specific sensibilities of our communities.”
The broadcaster added that its “commitment to those principles has guided our decisions throughout this process, independent of any external influence from government agencies or individuals.”
The Walt Disney Co., the parent company of ABC, previously announced Kimmel would return to its airwaves on Tuesday evening after his late-night show was preempted by the network for nearly a week.
After that announcement, Sinclair and Nexstar each released statements of their own, saying then that they would continue to preempt the show.
“Beginning Tuesday night, Sinclair will be preempting Jimmy Kimmel Live! across our ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Discussions with ABC are ongoing as we evaluate the show’s potential return,” Sinclair stated at the time.
In a separate statement at the time, Nexstar said, “We made a decision last week to preempt ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ following what ABC referred to as Mr. Kimmel’s ‘ill-timed and insensitive’ comments at a critical time in our national discourse. We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve.”
It added, “In the meantime, we note that ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be available nationwide on multiple Disney-owned streaming products, while our stations will focus on continuing to produce local news and other programming relevant to their respective markets.”
In a more than 15-minute monologue at the top of his show on Tuesday, Kimmel gave an impassioned defense of free speech, needled the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and President Donald Trump, and explained his previous comments about the response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
ABC first announced that Kimmel’s show would be preempted “indefinitely” on Sept. 17, following Kimmel’s comments regarding Kirk’s death.
Before the network’s decision to preempt the show was announced last week, FCC Chair Brendan Carr suggested that Kimmel should be suspended over the comments.
“There’s calls for Kimmel to be fired. I think, you know, you could certainly see a path forward for suspension over this and again, you know, the FCC is going to have remedies that we could look at,” Carr said on a podcast with conservative commentator Benny Johnson at that time.
Unions that represent entertainment professionals and TV writers condemned the move.
Jimmy Kimmel and Guillermo Rodriguez are commemorating the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Rodriguez, who is Kimmel’s sidekick on the late-night talk show, posted a photo to Instagram hours before Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs its Tuesday episode.
The photo features Kimmel and Rodriguez smiling and embracing.
“We are back full of love,” Rodriguez captioned his post. The official Jimmy Kimmel Live! Instagram account collaborated on the post and shared it to its page, as well.
Kimmel also posted on Instagram hours before Jimmy Kimmel Live! is set to air on Tuesday. His post features a photo of himself smiling with the late TV legend Norman Lear.
“Missing this guy today,” Kimmel captioned the photo.
The Walt Disney Company announced Monday that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return on Tuesday.
ABC preempted Kimmel’s late-night talk show on Sept. 17 after comments Kimmel made regarding CharlieKirk‘s death. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr called for Kimmel’s suspension over the comments before ABC’s decision was announced.
“Last Wednesday, we made the decision to suspend production on the show to avoid further inflaming a tense situation at an emotional moment for our country,” a statement from The Walt Disney Company reads. “It is a decision we made because we felt some of the comments were ill-timed and thus insensitive. We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday.”
Tuesday night’s guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be Glen Powell and Sarah McLachlan. Ethan Hawke, LisaAnn Walter and YUNGBLUD will appear on Wednesday night, while Peyton Manning, Oscar Nuñez and Alex G will appear on Thursday’s episode.
America Ferrera and Matthew McConaughey star in ‘The Lost Bus.’ (Apple TV+)
Art imitated life in more ways than one in the new film The Lost Bus. The movie is inspired by the true events of the 2018 Camp Fire that devastated Paradise, California, but it also has a real-life connection for star Matthew McConaughey.
The actor’s teenage son, Levi McConaughey, and his mom, Kay McConaughey, play his son and mom in the film – casting McConaughey attributes to director Paul Greengrass.
“I never thought it was something I’d do,” he tells ABC Audio. “I’ve been in scenes with my mother before, but that’s because Richard Linklater just cast her [in 2011’s Bernie] and put her to sing with me and I didn’t know about it.”
“But then my son taking an interest in it and then auditioning for it and getting it and then mom coming out to have the three of us in a scene, that did feel quite special,” McConaughey says.
McConaughey plays Kevin McKay in the film, a school bus driver, who, together with schoolteacher Mary Ludwig, played by America Ferrera, must save 22 children from the fast-moving wildfire. Both he and Ferrera got to meet and speak with their real-life counterparts.
“It was so beautiful to hear her talk about how the children really surprised her and rose to the occasion and comforted each other,” Ferrera says of meeting Ludwig. “And it’s gonna make me teary even thinking about it, but the heroism of these children on this bus, and how they rose to occasion and were wonderful for each other.”
The Lost Bus hits theaters Friday and premieres on Apple TV+ Oct. 3.
