Paramount’s creepy thriller “Smile” hit a scary-good box office milestone, surpassing $200 million worldwide.
After six weeks on the big screen, the film has generated $99.1 million domestically and $103.8 million internationally for a global tally of $202.9 million. It’s a stellar result since “Smile” cost just $17 million to produce.
“The spectacular worldwide performance of ‘Smile’ demonstrates what is truly possible when you deliver a brilliantly sticky marketing campaign on top of a masterfully made high-concept horror film,” said Paramount Pictures president and CEO Brian Robbins. “Thank you to all our creative partners, director Parker Finn, the amazing cast and our best-in-class production, marketing and distribution teams for creating a communal entertainment experience that movie-loving audiences can only find in the theaters!”
Ticket sales for “Smile” are especially impressive because the movie wasn’t initially expected to play in theaters at all. The film, starring Sosie Bacon (the daughter of Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) as a therapist who becomes haunted by hallucinations after witnessing a patient die, was commissioned for Paramount+. But once the movie was widely embraced in test screenings, the studio was encouraged to ditch streaming in favor of a full theatrical rollout.
The “brilliantly sticky marketing campaign” that Robbins is referring to includes the studio’s smart move to hire actors to sit behind home plate at televised Major League Baseball games while flashing creepy, unsettling grins, which went viral online before the movie premiered in theaters.
“Smile” continues a sterling box office stretch for Paramount, which has scored in 2022 with “Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Lost City,” “Scream” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
Elsewhere at the international box office, “Black Adam” added $25.4 million over the weekend, bringing overseas ticket sales to $182.3 million. So far, the Warner Bros. comic book adventure has surpassed $300 million worldwide. It’s a decent total in pandemic times, but it’ll need to keep playing on the big screen to justify its $195 million production budget.
“Ticket to Paradise,” a romantic comedy with Julia Roberts and George Clooney, crossed $90 million at the international box office. Over the weekend, the Universal Pictures film opened in Japan in fifth place with $500,000, bringing back stronger ticket sales in the country than recent rom-coms like “Last Christmas” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” Globally, “Ticket to Paradise” has become a hit with $137 million and counting.