Can Horror Hit ‘Black Phone 2’ Hold Off Anime ‘Chainsaw Man’ at the Box Office?

October’s box office slowdown is expected to continue this weekend, but amidst a medley of new releases aimed at specific audiences, it is looking like a matchup of horror vs. anime for the No. 1 spot.

After grossing $3 million on Tuesday, Universal/Blumhouse’s “Black Phone 2” has a total of $32.4 million after five days and is expected to earn $12-15 million in its second weekend. On the low end of that projection, it is roughly a 55% drop from the film’s $27.4 million opening weekend and still higher than the opening weekend of any Blumhouse film released since the start of 2024.

Buoyed by solid word-of-mouth and its proximity to Halloween,…