Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

Every Monday, people count the money that films make in cinemas. This is called the box office. The film with the most money is number one.

This weekend was Halloween. The number one film was You Can See Everything. It made about 10.6 million dollars in the United States and Canada.

The second film was Clayface. It made about 10.4 million dollars. The difference was only about 200,000 dollars. That is very close.

The third film was Wildwood. It made 7.4 million dollars. This Halloween was quiet. Last year, the holiday weekend made more money.

cinema

A building where people go to watch films.

box office

The money that films earn from ticket sales.

weekend

Saturday and Sunday, and often Friday evening too.

million

One thousand thousand.

difference

The amount by which two numbers are not the same.

quiet

With little activity or few people.

ticket

A small paper or code that lets you enter a cinema.

holiday

A special day when many people do not work.

Level 2 — Elementary

The North American box office chart for the weekend of 30 October to 1 November was decided by a very small margin. A24's You Can See Everything took about 10.6 million dollars, and Warner Bros.' Clayface took about 10.4 million. After three weekends in cinemas, the two films finally swapped places.

LAIKA's animated film Wildwood held third place with 7.4 million dollars, down 39 percent on the week before. Wicker, from Black Bear, made 4.1 million, and Paramount's Street Fighter fell 63 percent to 3.2 million. A one-night concert event, the BTS World Tour live viewing from Sao Paulo, took 2.8 million.

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, which usually hurts cinemas, because people go to parties instead of the movies. The whole weekend came in below last year's holiday total of 57.4 million dollars.

There was one unusual result. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, released by Sony, expanded into 1,112 cinemas and jumped 1,284 percent to 1.9 million dollars. A jump like that happens when a small film suddenly opens in many more places at once.

margin

The amount by which one result beats another.

chart

An ordered list showing which items are most popular.

animated

Made with drawings or models rather than filmed actors.

expand

To open in more places, or to become bigger.

release

To make a film available to the public.

concert

A live music performance in front of an audience.

total

The complete amount when everything is added together.

result

The outcome of something that has happened.

Level 3 — Intermediate

The closest box office race of the autumn was settled by roughly 200,000 dollars. For the weekend of 30 October to 1 November, A24's You Can See Everything took about 10.6 million dollars in North America from 3,243 cinemas, narrowly ahead of Warner Bros.' Clayface on about 10.4 million from 3,478, according to Box Office Mojo figures reported on 1 November. Weekend numbers are revised on Monday, so a gap that small is better treated as a photo finish than a verdict.

What makes the result interesting is the direction of travel. You Can See Everything slipped 43 percent week on week, while Clayface dropped 57 percent, which means the A24 title did not so much win the weekend as fall more slowly. Awardsradar nonetheless judged that Clayface was holding much stronger than anticipated and called it a significant success for DC, a reminder that a studio's definition of a good hold depends entirely on what it feared before the weekend began.

Behind the top two, LAIKA's Wildwood held relatively firmly at 7.4 million dollars across 2,939 cinemas, a decline of 39 percent. Black Bear's Wicker was steadiest of all, easing only 28 percent to 4.1 million, while Paramount's Street Fighter continued its collapse with a 63 percent fall to 3.2 million. A single-night event, the BTS World Tour live viewing from Sao Paulo distributed by Trafalgar Releasing, took 2.8 million, and Sony's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York surged 1,284 percent to 1.9 million as it widened into 1,112 locations.

The overall picture was soft. Halloween landed on a Saturday this year, pulling the audience that would otherwise have bought tickets into parties and trick-or-treating, and the weekend's business came in below the 57.4 million dollars the holiday generated a year earlier. A24 is reported to be targeting a finish of 90 to 100 million dollars for You Can See Everything, a figure that would have sounded ambitious for the film a month ago and now looks like a plausible landing zone.

photo finish

A result so close that it is hard to say who won.

revise

To correct a figure after more accurate information arrives.

week on week

Compared with the same measure in the previous week.

hold

In cinema, how well a film keeps its audience after its opening weekend.

ease

To fall gently or slightly.

collapse

A sudden and severe fall.

distribute

To supply a film to cinemas so they can show it.

soft

Weaker than usual, especially of sales or demand.

Level 4 — Advanced

Two hundred thousand dollars is a rounding error in a business that measures itself in hundreds of millions, and it was enough to decide the weekend. Over 30 October to 1 November, A24's You Can See Everything grossed roughly 10.6 million dollars in North America from 3,243 locations, edging Warner Bros.' Clayface at roughly 10.4 million from 3,478, per Box Office Mojo figures published on 1 November. Because weekend estimates are reconciled against actuals early in the week, a margin that thin is provisional by construction, and anyone declaring a winner on Sunday evening is describing a snapshot rather than a result.

The arithmetic underneath is more instructive than the ranking. You Can See Everything declined 43 percent against its previous session; Clayface shed 57 percent. The A24 title therefore prevailed by decaying more gracefully, which is the ordinary mechanism by which third-weekend chart changes occur and which should temper any narrative of momentum. Awardsradar's own read, that Clayface was holding considerably better than anticipated and represented a meaningful win for DC, is not inconsistent with losing the weekend: expectations, not rivals, are what a studio is really competing against by week three.

Further down, LAIKA's Wildwood proved durable at 7.4 million dollars from 2,939 sites, off 39 percent, and Black Bear's Wicker was the firmest performer on the chart, easing just 28 percent to 4.1 million. Paramount's Street Fighter extended a steep slide with a 63 percent drop to 3.2 million. Two outliers complicated the shape of the chart: Trafalgar Releasing's one-night BTS World Tour live viewing from Sao Paulo, which banked 2.8 million dollars on a single engagement, and Sony's The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, which rose 1,284 percent to 1.9 million as it broadened into 1,112 locations, an increase that measures distribution strategy rather than any sudden shift in public appetite.

The macro reading was unambiguously weak. Halloween fell on a Saturday, diverting the evening on which the weekend's business is normally concentrated, and the aggregate came in beneath the 57.4 million dollars the holiday delivered twelve months earlier. A24 is reported to be aiming at a 90 to 100 million dollar domestic finish for You Can See Everything, a trajectory that depends less on this weekend's photo finish than on whether the film continues to shed its audience at forty percent a week rather than sixty. In exhibition, the slope of the curve is the asset; the top line is merely the headline.

rounding error

An amount so small that it hardly affects the total.

reconcile

To check two sets of figures against each other and correct them.

provisional

Arranged for now but likely to be changed.

temper

To make something less extreme.

durable

Lasting well over time without weakening.