Halloween carves up a huge opening!
Michael Myers stalked moviegoers for more horrifying homicide this weekend and put HALLOWEEN on top of the box office with an estimated opening of $77.5 million!
The masked murderer's latest slaughter (which ignores all previous HALLOWEEN sequels and remakes) had the second-biggest October opening of all time, just a bit short of VENOM's $80 million domestic premiere two weeks ago.
Picking up 40 years after the original Haddonfield massacre, the $10 million Blumhouse production also easily had the biggest opening in the slasher genre, almost doubling the $40.5 million opening of the 2009 FRIDAY THE 13TH reboot. And it scored the second-highest opening for an R-rated horror release, behind only the massive $123.4 million debut of Stephen King's IT in September of last year.
The sequel from director David Gordon Green (PINEAPPLE EXPRESS) and co-writer Danny McBride also sliced up an extra $14.3 million from international audiences for a worldwide weekend of $91.8 million.
The Shape's new pursuit of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is already the highest-grossing entry in the HALLOWEEN series (although the $47 million domestic finish of John Carpenter's 1978 original would be around $180 million in today's dollars). Rob Zombie's 2007 remake ended with $58 million domestic and $80 million worldwide.
Critics were generally thrilled to see Strode confront her relentless nemesis, giving the movie an 80% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Hack your way over to the JoBlo reviews HERE and HERE.
The R-rated drama remake A STAR IS BORN refused to budge from second place, collecting another $19.3 million on its third weekend in that position.
That brings the $36 million Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga musical romance (which Cooper also directed) to $126.3 million domestic as it also just crossed $200 million worldwide.
After two weeks ruling the chart, Tom Hardy's first adventure with his symbiotic partner VENOM dropped to third place with $18.1 million.
Launching Sony's own planned Marvel universe, the $100 million PG-13 comic adaptation from ZOMBIELAND director Ruben Fleischer has a domestic total of $177.1 million and a worldwide total of $461.8 million, which pushes it ahead of global tallies for the MCU's THOR ($449 million) and Fox's X-MEN: THE LAST STAND ($459 million).
The PG-rated sequel GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN was still frightening in fourth place with $9.7 million, only scaring away 38% of business from its opening last weekend.
The $35 million adaptation of R.L. Stine's book series has a ten-day domestic total of $28.8 million and a worldwide total of $39.9 million.
Orbiting fifth place was the Ryan Gosling astronaut movie FIRST MAN with $8.5 million, a descent of 46% from last week's opening. The fact-based PG-13 drama from Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle (LA LA LAND), following the trajectory of Neil Armstrong, has a ten-day domestic total of $29.9 million and $55.4 million worldwide on a reported cost of $59 million.
On its first weekend in wide release, acclaimed drama THE HATE U GIVE stepped up to sixth place with $7.5 million for a domestic total of $10.6 million after two weeks in limited release. Based on the bestselling book by Angie Thomas, the PG-13 high school story cost a reported $23 million.
The PG-rated animated comedy SMALLFOOT shuffled to seventh place with $6.6 million, taking the $80 million Yeti family tale to a domestic total of $66.3 million and $137.1 million worldwide after four weekends.
In eighth place was the PG-13 comedy NIGHT SCHOOL with $5 million. On its fourth weekend, the pairing of Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish has a domestic total of $66.9 million and a worldwide total of $84.4 million worldwide (on a reported cost of $29 million).
The R-rated thriller BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE shifted to ninth place with $3.3 million, losing 54% from its opening last week. CABIN IN THE WOODS director Drew Goddard's twisting mystery with Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Chris Hemsworth and Jeff Bridges has a ten-day domestic total of $13.3 million and $21.4 million worldwide, on a reported cost of $32 million.
Strolling onto the list in tenth place was the PG-13 drama THE OLD MAN & THE GUN with $2 million as it expanded to 800 locations. Ostensibly the final screen appearance of star Robert Redford, the movie has a domestic total of $4.2 million after its limited release run.
Outside the chart, the Anna Kendrick/Blake Lively mystery A SIMPLE FAVOR was resolved and Eli Roth's THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK IN ITS WALLS closed its doors.
Of the weekend's limited releases, the teen drama MID90s had the strongest performance with a per-screen average of $62k, followed by Melissa McCarthy's biopic of literary forger Lee Israel CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? with a $30k per-screen average.
Next weekend, Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman take a dive in the submarine thriller HUNTER KILLER and Rowan Atkinson's espionage goofball is back in JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN, while the remake of horror classic SUSPIRIA gets a limited release.
What is your favorite John Carpenter movie? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halloween | $77.5 M | NEW |
| 2 | A Star Is Born | $19.3 M | $126.3 M |
| 3 | Venom | $18.1 M | $171.1 M |
| 4 | Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween | $9.7 M | $28.8 M |
| 5 | First Man | $8.5 M | $29.9 M |
| 6 | Smallfoot | $6.6 M | $66.3 M |
| 7 | The Hate U Give | $7.5 M | $10.6 M |
| 8 | Night School | $5 M | $66.9 M |
| 9 | Bad Times at the El Royale | $3.3 M | $13.3 M |
| 10 | The Old Man & the Gun | $2 M | $4.2 M |
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