With COVID-19 raging, ‘Freaky’ earns $3.7 million amid nationwide theater reclosures

Kathryn Newton holds a weapon as a serial killer in “Freaky.” Although nearly half of U.S. and Canadian theaters are now open, the domestic box office continues to do middling business as the COVID-19 pandemic rages. Universal and Blumhouse’s “Freaky,” starring Vince Vaughn as a serial killer who swaps bodies with an introverted teenager (Kathryn Newton), opened with $3.7 million in North America. With $1.9 million in international receipts, it earned a cumulative $5.6 million this weekend, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

The result comes in the midst of nationwide theater reclosures as the pandemic surges into what might be its most deadly stretch. Currently 47.7% of theaters remain open, down from more than 50% in October. The horror comedy, Blumhouse’s take on the “Freaky Friday” body swap premise, received favorable reviews with a B- CinemaScore, an 85% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and critical praise for Vaughn’s “career-best” role . Vince Vaughn as the Butcher in “Freaky.”

This is the third week in a row that a Universal film has topped the weekend box office. Universal’s Focus Features had last weekend’s No. 1 spot with “Let Him Go,” which added $1.8 million in its second weekend […]

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