“Halloween Kills” made $50 million this weekend, twice the amount of “No Time to Die,” the James Bond movie. The Bond film fell 56% in its second weekend, more than the last two Bond films, “Spectre,” and “Skyfall.”

The Bond film is having trouble holding an audience. “Halloween Kills” set a record for the largest opening of any horror film, which was amazing considering it’s also available on Peacock.

For “No Time to Die,” the second week is a bit of a bust also because its second week is also off by $10 million from “Spectre,” the most recent Bond film. “Spectre” earned $200 million domestically. Right now, “No Time to Die” is at $99 million.

Yikes!

Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel” would be the Last Movie for any other director.

Starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver, the medieval bonanza made just $4.8 mil in wide release this weekend.

This thing is playing in over 3,000 theaters. But no one is going. Per theater average was just $1,573 with multiple showings.

This is really a disaster since this extravaganza cost upwards of $150 mil. Those three stars alone will have salaries that make turning a domestic profit impossible. This was a 21st Century aka 20th Century Fox release.

Exhibitor Relations notes: “Affleck and Damon stunk it up overseas too, as THE LAST DUEL grossed just $4.2M in 37 territories including France, UK, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Brazil–with NOT ONE market totaling over $1M, and only two above $500k.”

Lucky for Ridley he has “House of Gucci” coming soon with Lady Gaga and the ubiquitous Adam Driver.

“The Last Duel” got respectful reviews, too, with an 86 on Rotten Tomatoes. But just, you know, no one cared. One day soon we’ll see it on Disney Plus and judge for ourselves.

This will be a $150 million-plus write off for Disney and the producers.

SAT NIGHT UPDATE

“No Time to Die” was trounced by “Halloween Kills.” The latter horror film made three times as much as the Bond movie (on its second Friday) with $22 million vs. $7 million.

SAT MORNING

Last night was not a big celebration for James Bond.

“No Time to Die” made just $7.2 million, down 69% from last Friday’s $23.3 million. That’s a stunning week to week drop, meaning fans didn’t return to see it again. Even though James bought the farm. I’m a little surprised.

Now “No Time to Die” will likely fail to pass $100 million over the weekend. With $82 million all in, another $14 million (fingers crossed) tonight and tomorrow would only bring it to $96 million. If it gets that far.

Also, the Bond film may not finish in first place for a second week. That distinction may go to “Halloween Kills,” which already took Bond out in Thursday previews.

Uh oh. Trouble!

On Thursday night, “No Time to Die” was beaten soundly by previews for the latest “Halloween” movie, “Halloween Kills.”

WTH? “NTD” $3.6 million, “HK” $4.8 million.

It was the fourth day in a row of decline for the James Bond movie, Daniel Craig’s last. And what makes this news very troubling is that “Halloween” was in far fewer theaters last night — 2950 vs. 4407.

“No Time to Die” is now up to $75 million in six days, and will cross $100 million over the weekend. But it’s also possible that it won’t repeat at number 1 this weekend.

The Bond movie carries a very high price tag– around $200 million. “Halloween Kills” cost nothing by comparison. And it’s a horror movie. Yikes.

Sacre bleu!

Next Friday, after a year and a half wait, Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” will open only in 50 theaters.

This is not good news.

Searchlight Pictures, formerly Fox, now Disney, did the same thing to “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” That movie is a dead lox at the box office, with just $3 million in the till.

The studio knew there was no audience, and they were right. The only salvageable element of “Tammy Faye” is Jessica Chastain’s Oscar worthy performance.

Now we come to “The French Dispatch.” Audience members have walked out of screenings. Reviewers have actually said they hated it. Hated.

I saw it earlier this week, and Anderson’s beautifully art directed three part omnibus of vignettes lacks coherence. And a plot. And consistent characters. The first installment isn’t bad, but the next two — even with Timothee Chalamet’s hair styled like a souffle — go nowhere fast.

There are no Oscar possibilities for the actors, the best of whom are Adrien Brody and Benicio del Toro. Even though Jeffrey Wright is excellent, his chapter is a trip into a maze.

Releasing into 50 theaters will give “The French Dispatch” a shot at building word of mouth in art houses. But Disney would be better off putting it on streaming, writing it off, and moving on to the next Anderson concoction.

PS Elisabeth Moss, pictured in the poster, is barely in the movie. Maybe she’ll turn up in a longer DVD version. I hope so.