LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — The fall movie season has seen a standout debut with the release of “Poor Things,” which scored the best specialty opening with $644,000 from just nine theaters. The off-beat comedy from director Yorgos Lanthimos stars Emma Stone and has been generating Oscar buzz since its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Golden Lion.

In a surprising turn, Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” earned $12.8 million in its opening weekend, marking the first original anime production to top the domestic box office. The film has slowly been rolling out internationally, earning $84 million, with $56 million of that coming from Miyazaki’s native Japan.

Last weekend’s champ, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” tumbled in its second weekend, earning $5 million for a fifth place finish. Beyoncé’s concert film has earned roughly $28 million domestically but experienced a significant 77% drop in its second weekend.

And in limited release, Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” opened with $117,063 from two theaters, marking a per-screen average of $58,532. The film adapts Isabel Wilkerson’s “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents,” a historical examination of hatred and racism.

Next weekend is set to bring the release of “Wonka,” a look at the early days of the candy maker that stars Timothée Chalamet. However, theater owners and analysts believe this holiday season will be more muted than the prior two years, due to the absence of mega-grossing films like “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” from the box office lineup.