The Grabber with an icy mask, tilting his head and holding an axe down by his side in Black Phone 2.
After a box office losing streak so disappointing that even its boss had to make public statements, Blumhouse scored a much-needed win this weekend with Black Phone 2. The movie arrives three years after the original The Black Phone, which grossed more than $160 million at the worldwide box office.
It paved the way for three more Blumhouse blockbusters, Insidious: The Red Door , M3GAN , and Five Nights at Freddy's . However, it's all been downhill since then, with a string of movies from the horror specialists tanking at the box office this year. This is about to change now that Black Phone 2 has delivered a solid $26 million haul in its domestic debut. The movie claimed the top spot on the weekend's box office charts, dethroning last week's Tron: Ares. Globally, it delivered a little more than $40 million this weekend, against a reported budget of $30 million. Directed by Scott Derrickson, who also helmed the first film, Black Phone 2 earned mostly positive reviews. It's currently sitting at a"certified fresh" 74% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus reads,"Taking the consequences of its predecessor seriously, Black Phone 2 is a chilling sequel that mines memorable scares and thought-provoking themes from the scars that linger." By comparison, the first film earned an 81% on RT, cementing Derrickson's stature as one of the foremost horror filmmakers of his generation. Earlier this year, he directed the genre mash-up The Gorge, which proved to be a major hit for Apple TV. He might even return to direct a follow-up to Black Phone 2, if writer Joe Hill's recent comments are to be believed. Hill, the son of the legendary author Stephen King, wrote the short story on which The Black Phone was based. Blumhouse Has an Even Bigger Movie Around the Corner Before Black Phone 2's success, Blumhouse had delivered a string of flops this year — Wolf Man, The Woman in the Yard, Drop, and most surprisingly, M3GAN 2.0. Following the film's failure, studio boss Jason Blum admitted on The Town podcast that the company"classically overthought how powerful people’s engagement was" with the character."We all thought M3GAN was like Superman. We could do anything to her. We could change genres. We could put her in the summer. We could make her look different. We could turn her from a bad guy into a good guy,” Blum said. After sticking the landing with Black Phone 2, Blumhouse will now look forward to Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which is also a bit of a sure thing. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates. 9.0/10 7 10 Black Phone 2 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed R Horror Thriller Release Date October 17, 2025 Runtime 114 Minutes Director Scott Derrickson Writers C. Robert Cargill, Scott Derrickson, Joe Hill Producers Jason Blum, C. Robert Cargill Prequel The Black Phone Cast See All In this sequel, Finn navigates the aftermath of his captivity at 17, while his sister experiences nightmarish calls from the black phone. She envisions three boys being pursued at Alpine Lake, a winter camp, in a series of haunting episodes that blur the lines between reality and terror.
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