‘Halloween’ slashes franchise record with US$77.5mln launch
LOS ANGELES: ‘Halloween’ made a killing in North America, earning US$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 US$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’ US$123 million launch. It also landed the second-highest debut for an October release, set earlier this month by ‘Venom’ with US$80 million.
Overseas, ‘Halloween’ generated US$14.3 million from 23 markets for a global start of US$91.8 million. ‘Halloween’ cost just US$10 million, marking another win for Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions, who co-financed the film with Miramax. ‘Halloween’ surpassed ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ (US$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 instalment 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 per cent average on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore.
Meanwhile, Fox expanded YA drama ‘The Hate U Give’ to 2,303 screens. It picked up a solid US$7.5 million, taking its total earnings to US$10.5 million.
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’ twoweek 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 US$19.3 million, while ‘Venom’ follows close behind with US$18.1 million for solid domestic totals of US$126 million and US$171 million, respectively.
‘Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween’ also cashed in on the spooky spirit, picking up US$9.7 million to land in fourth place. That brings its North American tally to US$28 million. Rounding out the top five is Universal’s ‘First Man’, which notched US$8.5 million this weekend for a total of US$30 million. Damien Chazelle’s space epic, which holds a US$60 million price tag, dropped roughly 46 per cent in its second frame.
At the specialty box office, Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, ‘Mid90s’ secured the best screen average this weekend with a massive US$62,375 from four theatres, a total of US$249,000. A24’s coming-of-age skateboarding drama expands nationwide next weekend.
Elsewhere, Fox Searchlight’s ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’, starring Melissa McCarthy, generated US$150,000 when it opened in five locations, averaging a huge US$30,000 per screen.
Another surprisingly strong showing puts October 54.5 percent ahead of the same frame last year, as well as 12 per cent ahead of 2014’s record month, according to comScore. The 2018 box office remains up 10.6 per cent compared to the previous year. — Reuters