Tyler Perry has averted a disaster at the box office with the opening of Lionsgate’s comedy sequel “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” scaring up a solid 21.7 million US dollars at 2,388 North American locations.

That was pretty much the limit of good news at the nation’s multiplexes, where moviegoers gave limited support to a quartet of new arrivals – weather-disaster title “Geostorm,” firefighter hero tale “Only the Brave,” murder mystery “The Snowman” and faith-based drama “Same Kind of Different as Me.”

“Boo 2! A Madea Halloween,” which received an A- CinemaScore, is finishing in line with expectations and about 25 percent behind original “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” which won its opening weekend last year. The sequel, set at a haunted campground, is directed and written by Perry, who also stars in his ninth iteration as the tough-talking Madea.

Warner Bros.’ “Geostorm,” starring Gerard Butler, is finishing a distant second place with about 13.3 million dollars at 3,246 venues – at the top end of modest forecasts but a major disappointment given the film’s estimated 100 million dollars budget, financed by Warner Bros. and Skydance Media. 

Movieigoers gave “Geostorm” a B- CinemaScore. The timing of the release, with hurricanes hitting hard in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico over the past two months, probably dampened enthusiasm.

On the international side, “Geostorm” took in 36.4 million dollars at 13,000 screens with first-place finishes in 36 territories to lift its international total to 49 million dollars. South Korea and Russia were the strongest new markets.

Spy spoof “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” has led the international box office with 48.7 million dollars this weekend – most of that coming from an impressive 40.3 million dollars launch in China.

Black Label Media’s “Only the Brave,” distributed by Sony, is heading for fifth place with 6 million dollars at 2,577 sites, finishing behind Universal’s second weekend of “Happy Death Day” at 9.4 million dollars and Warner’s third weekend of “Blade Runner 2049” at about 7.4 million dollars. 

“Only the Brave,” is based on the story of the 19 Arizona firefighters who died in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, has received stellar critical support with a 90 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. STXfilms’ second weekend of Jackie Chan actioner “The Foreigner” will land in sixth with about 5.6 million dollars, ahead of Universal’s “The Snowman,” which is finishing far below forecasts with 3.4 million dollars at 1,812 venues. 

“The Snowman,” produced by Working Title, is in a tie with New Line’s seventh weekend of horror blockbuster “It,” which will win up with a total of 320 million dollars domestically after 45 days.

“The Snowman” fell flat with audiences, who gave it a D CinesmaScore while critics panned the movie with a 9 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Pure Flix’s “Same Kind of Different as Me” debuted out of the top 10 with about 1.4 million US dollars at 1,362 sites.