With Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Hallowee composer Philip White busts a move from television to film. (Photo collage by MaxTheTrax from images provided by White and Lionsgate)

Composer Philip White makes his debut at the top of the box office with Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween, which collected $21.65 million in its debut frame. The Madrid native, who is classically trained in orchestral composition and Flamenco guitar, has had two of his works performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, including  El Niño Mudo, which received its world premiere at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

White was impressively educated, receiving dual degrees in drama and composition from Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later earning a graduate degree from the USC Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. He got his start in production music working alongside composer Christopher Lennertz, first on the videogames such as the 2008 James Bond title Quantum of Solace, and later on television shows including ABC’s Agent Carter (2015-2016) and the WB’s Supernatural (2006-2016). This is the U.S. feature breakout for White, who is represented by Kraft-Engel.

Lionsgate’s Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween finds Madea, Bam and Hattie and the gang venturing to a haunted campground and run for their lives when monsters, goblins and the bogeyman are unleashed.  Perry, who directed, had hit last year with the original Boo! Madea Halloween this same weekend, with Madea veteran Elvin Ross handling composer chores on that outing, which cumed $75 million worldwide.

In second place, Warner Bros.’ Geostorm, directed by Dean Devlin with Lorne Balfe manning the baton, earned $13.3 million in its first week of release. Starring Gerard Butler, Abbie Cornish, Andy Garcia and Ed Harris, Geostorm is the story of weather controlling satellites that malfunction and severe weather is unleashed upon the Earth. The film has earned $49.6 million internationally for a worldwide total to date of $62.9 million. Balfe has been much in the news for his Emmy-nominated work as co-composer (with Rupert Gregson-Williams) for Netflix’s The Crown. He also produced Hans Zimmer’s score for Dunkirk.

Also opening in North America this weekend, The Snowman, with a score by Marco Beltrami, is off to a rocky start, rolling in $3.4 million in 10 locations. Beltrami had a busy year, also creating music for Angelina Jolie’s critically well-received Netflix project about the horrors of Cambodian rule under the Khmer Rouge First They Killed My Father.