LOS ANGELES — Halloween made a killing in North America, earning $77.5 million when the slasher film launched in 3,928 locations.
David Gordon Green’s Halloween, a direct sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, obliterated the franchise record opening of $26 million, previously held by the 2007 Rob Zombie reboot. Halloween also notched the second-best start for an R-rated horror film following It’s $123 million launch. It also landed the second-highest debut for an October release, set earlier this month by Venom with $80 million.
Overseas, Halloween generated $14.3 million from 23 markets for a global start of $91.8 million. Halloween cost just $10 million, marking another win for Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions, who co-financed the film with Miramax. Halloween surpassed Paranormal Activity 3 ($52.5 million) for the best debut to date for Blumhouse.
“I am enormously proud of this film,” Jason Blum said in a statement. “Halloween brings the franchise back to life in a fresh, relevant and fun way that is winning over fans and critics alike.”
Universal’s Halloween is the 11th installment in the series, five of which have starred Jamie Lee Curtis as iconic avenging babysitter Laurie Strode, who is now a grandmother in the newest take. Halloween is now Curtis’ biggest opening to date, as well as the best horror opening with a female lead. It’s also the biggest launch ever with a female lead over 55 years old.
Carpenter returned to executive produce and compose the score for the R-rated thriller. The follow-up has garnered some of the best reviews for a series entry yet. While the last few iterations have been panned, Halloween holds a 80% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore.
October’s box office receipts continue to impress as Venom and A Star Is Born deliver healthy numbers in their third outings. After Venom’s two-week reign atop domestic box office charts, Sunday estimates show Sony’s superhero movie led by Tom Hardy was narrowly defeated by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born for second place. A Star Is Born pocketed another $19.3 million, while Venom follows close behind with $18.1 million for solid domestic totals of $126 million and $171 million, respectively.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween also cashed in on the spooky spirit, picking up $9.7 million to land in fourth place. That brings its North American tally to $28 million. Rounding out the top five is Universal’s First Man, which notched $8.5 million this weekend for a total of $30 million. Damien Chazelle’s space epic, which holds a $60 million price tag, dropped roughly 46% in its second frame. — Reuters

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