Casper Kelly’s horror comedy Buddy is picking up more theaters and more showtimes for Labor Day weekend, according to a short video posted earlier today to the film’s official YouTube channel, aptly named It’s Buddy. True to how the film has marketed itself all along, the clip stays in character, with Buddy himself telling viewers he is “in even more theaters this weekend so now everyone has to see my movie.” The channel name mirrors the fictional children’s program at the center of the film, and the studio has leaned into that bit throughout the rollout.
Neither Roadside Attractions nor Saban Films has issued a formal release with an updated theater count, but the timing tracks with what industry watchers have been expecting. As TDN reported after Buddy’s opening weekend, the film landed at number six domestically with 5.36 million dollars from 1,258 screens, more than doubling pre-release tracking and marking the best opening of 2026 for any film released on fewer than 1,800 screens. With numbers like that and reviews continuing to build, pushing into new markets for Labor Day was the logical next step for the distributors.
One of those new markets is already on the board. The Nightlight Cinema in Akron, Ohio is adding Buddy to its lineup for the first time this weekend after the film’s strong run elsewhere, and the theater is treating the addition as an event, with a Q&A after this Friday’s 8:30 p.m. screening featuring producer Tyler Davidson and executive producer Ryan Kelly. The stop carries some extra weight given the film’s history, since the young ensemble spent the summer of 2025 filming in Brooklyn, Solon and Burton, all in Northeast Ohio.
Specific new theater numbers from Roadside Attractions and Saban Films may still be coming, but between the box office momentum, the response to the young cast and now a wider footprint for the holiday weekend, Buddy is showing no signs of slowing down as it heads into its second weekend in theaters.