Cannes Sensation "The Substance" Debuts at Sixth Place in North American Box Office

Ah, the smell of popcorn, the chatter of excited moviegoers, and the hum of the projector—Hollywood's symphony of chaos is back at it again! This weekend, we saw a new player take the stage (though one might argue it’s more of a small, sad curtain call than a triumphant debut). Enter Coralie Fargeat’s *The Substance*, a body horror flick that dares to delve into the life of an aging actress who, I presume, has enough drama simmering behind those tired eyes to power a solar panel. This little gem, which snagged both the Cannes Best Screenplay Award and the coveted TIFF People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award, made a modest landing in sixth place at the North American box office, raking in a respectable $3.1 million over the weekend. Not too shabby, considering the film opened in a lavish 1,949 theaters. How very *arty*.

With familiar faces like Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid sharing the screen, *The Substance* seems to have sparked quite the conversation. Mubi reports the movie performed particularly well in cultural hubs such as New York and Los Angeles, where one might expect a fathomless pool of cinephiles to emerge from their artisanal coffee shops and embrace the grotesque nature of their own existential dread. Meanwhile, Warner Bros’ *Beetlejuice Beetlejuice* (yes, say it thrice, and it still doubles as a surprise number one) has managed to clutch the number one spot for its third weekend in a row. It’s as if Tim Burton, with his unparalleled ability to blend the whimsical with the eerie, is laughing all the way to the bank with a $226.8 million sequel—proving yet again that nostalgia and quirky humor have their eternal place in our hearts—and wallets.

Then there’s Paramount’s *Transformers One*, which opened at number two with a meaty $25 million. Imagine a world where Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, and Scarlett Johansson unite to breath life into inanimate robots. It was supposed to unseat Burton’s crown, but alas! The robots remain firmly in second gear. But, oh, the studio execs hold onto a glimmer of hope with a prayer for strong word of mouth. Isn’t that the magic sauce in Hollywood? If only we could bottle it.

Universal and Blumhouse’s psychological thriller *Speak No Evil*, a remake of its Danish counterpart, has clambered into third place, charming audiences with its unsettling story of a family discovering their friends are far from what they believed. Starring the ever-mesmerizing James McAvoy, it earned $5.9 million, climbing to a cumulative total of $21.5 million—because who wouldn’t want to watch horror unfold at a gathering of your closest friends?

In the midst of all this box-office hoopla, Halle Berry’s survival thriller, *Never Let Me Go*, seemed to have entered through the wrong door and garnered a meager $4.5 million. Let us give it a moment of silence, shall we? As for Disney/Marvel's *Deadpool & Wolverine*, holding strong with $3.9 million and a grand total of $627.3 million after nine weekends, it appears burned-out anti-heroes still have a certain charm about them.

But wait! There’s more. A24 has opened the doors to *A Different Man*, a dark comedy starring Sebastian Stan as a man with facial disfigurement who embarks on what he believes is a miraculous treatment to solve all his problems—only to find out the universe does not play by our rules. This limited release, which earned a quaint $56,126 from four screens, is set to broaden its horizons next weekend, perhaps hoping to stir something more than just whispered conversations.

As of September 20, the North American box office trails behind 2023 by a staggering 12.8%. One can’t help but wonder if it’s time for a pep rally for the forgotten films, or perhaps a manifesto for movies that secretly—*and not so secretly*—seek to reveal the absurdity of our existence, one awkward laugh at a time.