Once again written and directed by Parker Finn, the film follows a malevolent spirit that jumps hosts via a diabolical grin, this time infecting troubled pop star, played by Naomi Scott.

Scott stars opposite Lukas Gage, Rosemarie DeWitt and Miles Gutierrez-Riley. This time the budget was $28 million, which is a modest sum for a major studio.

Smile 2 earned a B CinemaScore from audiences, the same grade as the first film. It’s having to fend off competition from holdover slasher picture Terrifier 3, which opened to $18.9 million last weekend despite being unrated and doing no TV ads.

Terrifier 3, from Cineverse, looks to come in third on the weekend chart with $9 million to $10 million, a solid hold and putting its domestic total at roughly $26 million against a $2 million production budget.

Whatever the case, Wild Robot — which is available in the home via premium VOD — has bragging rights to holding at second place in its fourth weekend as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically.

The headline at the awards box office is Sean Baker’s Anora, which is opening in 5 locations in New York City and Los Angeles. The specialty movie from Neon follows a sex worker who falls for a Russian oligarch’s son and won the top award at the 2024 Cannes Fest.

Anora is on course to post a per-theater average of roughly $108,000, the best showing since Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City last year.