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For the 11th weekend this year so far, horror reigns supreme at the box office<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Black Phone 2<\/em><\/a>, the sinister sequel to director Scott Derrickson<\/a> and star Ethan Hawk<\/a>e’s 2021 hit, already surpassed its estimated $30 million budget in its premiere weekend. The supernatural, serial killer thriller featuring a wickedly against-type performance from Hawke grabbed $26.5 million at the domestic box office and $42 million globally, earning the No. 1 spot on both charts.<\/p>\n The success of the The Black Phone 2<\/em> bodes well not just for horror, but for original ideas in a production landscape increasingly dominated by reboots, remakes, and adaptations of existing IP \u2014 any IP, an even inert children’s toy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Derrickson’s film is the sixth film to top the box office this year so far, following Sinners<\/em>, Final Destination: Bloodlines<\/em>, Weapons<\/em>, The Conjuring: Last Rites<\/em>, and the latest entry in Japan’s wildly popular anime franchise, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie – Infinity Castle<\/em>. Compare that to last year, when only three films topped the domestic box office for a week each, compared to 11 weeks this year, with nine still to go. Of that group of six, two (Weapons <\/em>and Sinners<\/em>) were spun whole cloth from their creators’ imaginations, with The Black Phone<\/em>, Final Destination<\/em>, and The Conjuring<\/em> follow-ons from franchises that began as original IP.<\/p>\n