Halloween carves up movie competition
NEW YORK — Michael Meyers — or is it Jamie Lee Curtis? — can’t be stopped. Halloween dominated the North American box office for the second straight weekend, carving up an estimated $32 million in ticket sales.
The top four films were all unchanged at the North American box office, according to Sunday estimates, as Hollywood left Halloween to dominate the pre-trick-or-treating weekend. The sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 original, starring the 59-year-old Curtis as Laurie Strode, last week notched the biggest opening ever for a film with a female lead older than 55.
The Blumhouse Productions film, distributed by Universal Pictures, is already one of the highest grossing slasher films ever, with $126.7 million in ticket sales (plus another $45.6 million international) on just a $10 million budget. Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, slid a relatively modest 58 per cent — especially good for a horror release — after setting a record for an October debut last weekend.
Bradley Cooper’s lauded A Star Is Born remained in second place with $14 million in its fourth weekend. The film, starring Cooper and Lady Gaga, has thus far grossed $148.7 million domestically, while proving an equally strong seller overseas for Warner Bros. It’s made $104.6 million internationally.
Sony’s superhero spinoff Venom also stuck in third with $10.8 million in its fourth weekend. The comic-book adaptation, starring Tom Hardy, has grossed $504.8 million worldwide.
That trio of Halloween, Venom and A Star Is Born has driven the October box office to a new high. With a few days to go, monthly ticket sales have already surpassed the record of $757.1 million from 2014, according to comScore, with $789.9 million in sales in October — traditionally a fairly sleepy month in movie theatres.
The submarine thriller Hunter Killer was deep-sixed with $6.7 million. The Lionsgate release and Millennium production, stars Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman and Common.
After a promising limited release last weekend, Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, the coming-ofage skateboarding drama Mid90s, took in a mediocre $3 million in 1,206 theatres for A24. Pure Flix’s Christian war film drama Indivisible took in $1.6 million on 830 screens.
Johnny English Strikes Again, the third film in the 15-year-old Rowan Atkinson comedy franchise, opened with a mere $1.6 million, though it, too, was designed with more of an international focus. (It’s already earned $107.7 million overseas.)
The long-delayed London Fields, starring Amber Heard, notched one of the worst openings in years, grossing a minuscule $160,000 from 613 theatres. The film had been tied up for three years in legal disputes, including a suit between Heard and producers over nudity in the film.