Black Phone 2‘s updated opening weekend projections have arrived as it hits theaters. The Blumhouse horror movie, which stars Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw opposite Ethan Hawke as The Grabber, is a sequel to 2022’s The Black Phone. The original was a smash success, grossing $161.4 million against a reported $16 million budget.

Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Black Phone 2 took in $2.6 million during its Thursday night previews in domestic theaters. The movie is now projected to gross a 3-day domestic total between $20 and $30 million by the end of its opening weekend.

Although its previews came in slightly lower than the original The Black Phone, which grossed a solid $3 million during its opening Thursday, if the sequel hits the upper end of that bound, it could outgross its predecessor by a solid margin. Before grossing more than $150 million worldwide, The Black Phones domestic debut was only $23.6 million.

It remains to be seen how high 2025’s Black Phone 2 can climb by the end of Sunday. However, if its projections hold, it could already be well on its way toward becoming a hit. Nevertheless, considering how close its opening weekend could be to the original movie’s, it will most likely not be a success by the same margin.

Black Phone 2‘s reported budget of $30 million is nearly twice that of the original movie, giving it a much higher break-even point. Because movies often need to earn back two and a half times their budgets, its estimated break-even point could be as high as $75 million.

However, if it hits the upper end of its debut range and continues its current trajectory, it could potentially gross as high as $205 million by the end of its run.

This is entirely possible, especially considering the fact that Black Phone 2 reviews are solid. While it can’t quite compare to the original movie’s 81% Rotten Tomatoes score, its own Rotten Tomatoes Score of 74%, which is also Certified Fresh, is still solid, especially for a horror sequel.

Even if Black Phone 2 eventually falls behind the worldwide gross of the original movie, it should still easily clear its break-even point in theaters, firmly marking itself as a success, in and of itself. Therefore, even if it suffers from mildly diminishing returns, it could still cement the series as a major horror franchise with potential new sequels on the horizon.

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