‘Halloween’ scares off competition
The reboot is the second-highest horror opening of all time
Forty years after he first appeared in theatres, Michael Myers is still drawing huge audiences for a good scare.
Universal Pictures said on Sunday that Halloween took in an estimated $77.5 million (Dh284.6 million) in ticket sales from North American theatres.
It captured first place at the box office with the second-highest horror opening of all time, behind last year’s It.
It also marked the second highest October opening ever behind Venom’s $80.3 million launch earlier this month.
The studio also says it’s the biggest movie opening ever with a female lead over 55, in star Jamie Lee Curtis.
David Gordon Green directed Halloween, which brings back Curtis as Laurie Strode and Nick Castle as Michael Myers and essentially ignores the events of the other sequels and spinoffs aside from John Carpenter’s original.
Reviews have been largely positive for the new instalment, with an 80 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ Cinema Score from audiences that were mostly older (59 per cent over 25) and male (53 per cent). Internationally,
Halloween releases in the UAE on Thursday. — AP