‘Night School’ Beats ‘Smallfoot’ in Opening Weekend at the Box Office

Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish’s Night School is taking top marks at the box office this weekend.

The Hart and Haddish comedy will take first place in its opening weekend with $28 million from 3,010 locations in North America. Smallfoot will follow close behind, opening in second place with $23 million from 4,131 locations.

In Night School, Hart’s character has to go get his GED after his career stalls out. Haddish plays the class’s unusual teacher. Rob Riggle, Taran Killam, Romany Malco, Keith David, and Loretta Devine fill out the supporting cast. The film is directed by Maggie D. Lee.

Critics have been harsh on Night School – the film currently has a 30 percent Rotten Tomatoes critics score – but audiences seem to be enjoying it more – it has a 60 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and n A- CinemaScore. The film earned $9 million on Friday.

Smallfoot is an all-ages animated musical comedy. The voice cast includes big names like Channing Tatum, Zendaya, James Corden, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Yara Shahidi, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Tatro, and Common. The film is directed by Karey Kirkpatrick and opened to $6 million on Friday.

Smallfoot follows a yeti who encounters a legendary creature called a “smallfoot,” aka a human. The film has a 69 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and boasts an A- CinemaScore.

Last week’s chart-topper, The House With a Clock in its Walls, moves into third place in its second weekend. The film earned another $12.3 million, bringing its current box office total to $44 million. The film stars Jack Black and Cate Blanchett.

A Simple Favor will move into fourth place with $6 million for the weekend. Horror flick The Nun, the latest installment of The Conjuring horror movie series, moves into fifth place with another $5 million this weekend.

Keep reading to see the full top ten at the box office this weekend.

1. Night School

Opening Weekend
Friday: $9.5 million
Weekend: $28 million

Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis and a feisty teacher who doesn’t think he’s too bright.

Night School is directed by Malcolm D. Lee and stars Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Rob Riggle, Taran Killam, Romany Malco, Keith David, and Loretta Devine.

2. Smallfoot

Opening Weekend
Friday: $6.4 million
Weekend: $23 million

Migo is a friendly Yeti whose world gets turned upside down when he discovers something that he didn’t know existed — a human. He soon faces banishment from his snowy home when the rest of the villagers refuse to believe his fantastic tale. Hoping to prove them wrong, Migo embarks on an epic journey to find the mysterious creature that can put him back in good graces with his simple community.

Smallfoot is based on the book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos. The film is co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, and stars the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry, and Jimmy Tatro

3. The House With a Clock in Its Walls

Week Two
Friday: $3 million
Weekend: $12.1 million
Total: $44.4 million

Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his oddball uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious ticktock noise. He soon learns that Uncle Jonathan and his feisty neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman, are powerful practitioners of the magic arts. When Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town’s sleepy facade suddenly springs to life — revealing a secret and dangerous world of witches, warlocks and deadly curses.

Based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs, The House With a Clock in its Walls is directed by Eli Roth and stars based on the 1973 novel of the same name by John Bellairs and stars Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sunny Suljic, and Kyle MacLachlan. 

4. A Simple Favor

Week Three
Friday: $2.1 million
Weekend: $7.3 million
Total: $43.1 million

A Simple Favor, directed by Paul Feig, centers around Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a mommy vlogger who seeks to uncover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s (Blake Lively) sudden disappearance from their small town.

Based on Darcey Bell’s 2017 novel of the same name, the film also stars  Henry Golding and Andrew Rannells.

5. The Nun

Week Four
Friday: $1.6 million
Weekend: $5.4 million
Total: $108.9 million

When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order’s unholy secret. Risking not only their lives but their faith and their very souls, they confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.

The Nun is directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman, based on a story by Dauberman and James Wan. The film stars Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, and Jonas Bloquet.

6. Hell Fest

Opening Weekend
Friday: $2 million
Weekend: $4.7 million

On Halloween night, three young women and their respective boyfriends head to Hell Fest — a ghoulish traveling carnival that features a labyrinth of rides, games and mazes. They soon face a bloody night of terror when a masked serial killer turns the horror theme park into his own personal playground.

Hell Fest is directed by Gregory Plotkin and written by Seth M. Sherwood, Blair Butler and Akela Cooper. The film stars Amy Forsyth, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Reign Edwards and Tony Todd.

7. Crazy Rich Asians

Week Seven
Friday: $1.2 million
Weekend: $4.1 million
Total: $165.6 million

Rachel Chu is happy to accompany her longtime boyfriend, Nick, to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. She’s also surprised to learn that Nick’s family is extremely wealthy and he’s considered one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. Thrust into the spotlight, Rachel must now contend with jealous socialites, quirky relatives and something far, far worse — Nick’s disapproving mother.

Crazy Rich Asians is adapted from the novel written by Kevin Kwan. The film is directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Nico Santos, Lisa Lu, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh.

8. The Predator

Week Three
Friday: $1 million
Weekend: $3.5 million
Total: $47.4 million

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.

The film stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen and Sterling K. Brown. The film is directed by Shane Black.

9. White Boy Rick

Week Three
Friday: $717,000 million
Weekend: $2.4 million
Total: $21.6 million

Rick Wershe is a single father who’s struggling to raise two teenagers during the height of the crack epidemic in 1980s Detroit. Wershe sells guns illegally to make ends meet but soon attracts attention from the FBI. Federal agents convince his son, Rick Jr., to become an undercover drug informant in exchange for keeping his father out of prison. When young Rick gets in too deep, he finds himself seduced by the lure of easy money and becomes a drug dealer himself.

Based on a true story, White Boy Rick is directed by Yann Demange and written by Andy Weiss, Logan Miller, and Noah Miller. The film star Richie Merritt, Matthew McConaughey, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, and Piper Laurie.

10. Peppermint

Week Four
Friday: $507,000
Weekend: $1.8 million
Total: $33.5 million

Riley North awakens from a coma after surviving a brutal attack that killed her husband and daughter. When the system shields the murderers from justice, Riley sets out to transform herself from citizen to urban guerrilla. Channeling frustration into motivation, the young widow spends years in hiding — honing her mind, body and spirit to become an unstoppable force. Eluding the underworld, the police and the FBI, Riley embarks on a deadly quest to deliver her own personal brand of punishment.

Peppermint is directed by Pierre. The film stars Jennifer Garner, John Ortiz, John Gallagher Jr., Juan Pablo Raba, and Tyson Ritter,