Michael Myers in his twelfth installment of the Halloween franchise, made a killing at the box office this weekend, even though he was also streaming on Peacock (NBC Universal). Halloween Kills brought in an estimated $50.3 million at the North American box office this weekend. That number exceeded industry expectations, which had projected the film to make $35 million to $40 million this weekend.
The film’s lackluster reviews (it currently holds a 39% score on Rotten Tomatoes) couldn’t stop the film from having a strong opening. The synopsis of the film claims the nightmare isn’t over as unstoppable killer Michael Myers escapes from Laurie Strode’s trap to continue his ritual bloodbath. Injured and taken to the hospital, Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) fights through the pain as she inspires residents of Haddonfield, Ill., to rise up against Myers.
Taking matters into their own hands, the Strode women and other survivors form a vigilante mob to hunt down Michael and end his reign of terror once and for all. The slasher film is directed by David Gordon Green and written by Green, Danny McBride, and Scott Teems. The film is a direct sequel to 2018’s Halloween.
Even with home access on Peacock, it still grossed only $5 million less than No Time to Die last weekend. Of course, the production cost for the horror franchise was less than one-tenth of Daniel Craig’s James Bond finale which got bumped down to the #2 spot by the killer sequel.
Halloween Kills didn’t have much competition against the three other opening films including Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel which was speculated to at least get into eight-digit territory this weekend. It opened to just $350,000 in previews Thursday night, and the final numbers were even worse than imagined. The historical drama with a cast boasting the likes of Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck grossed a mere $4.8 million this weekend and landed the #5 spot.
The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, which had the #5 spot last week, has completely slipped off the top ten list and is nowhere to be found on the list in just it’s 3rd week in theaters and on HBO Max.
The other two films new to the top ten list are both foreign. Honsla Rakh opened at #7 at the box office and Most Eligible Bachelor opened at #10. Honsla Rakh is an Indian Punjabi-language romantic comedy film directed by Amarjit Singh Saron starring Diljit Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa, Shehnaaz Gill, and Shinda Grewal, it marks the debut of Diljit Dosanjh as producer. The film, set in Canada, depicts the story of a divorced father, who raised his son on his own. Most Eligible Bachelor is an Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Bommarillu Bhaskar. It is produced by Bunny Vasu and Vasu Varma on GA2 Pictures. The film stars Akhil Akkineni and Pooja Hegde.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage slides in at third place, capturing $16.5 million which brings its domestic haul to $169.1 million. UAR and MGM’s The Addams Family 2 nabbed fourth place with $7.2 million, which pushed its domestic gross to $42.3 million. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is still holding strong at #6 in its seventh week, drove its total to over $218 million and is going to settle into the $225 million.
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Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer’s Free Guy has passed $120 million domestic this weekend and is holding onto the top 10 list at #8 in its 6th week. A24’s odd folktale, Lamb, managed to stay put in eighth place, falling from just over $1 million to $543,000 and driving its total to $2 million after 2 weeks.
1. Halloween Kills (Universal) NEW – Cinemascore: B-; Metacritic: 42; Est. budget: $22 million; also on Peacock
$50,350,00 in 3,705 theaters; PTA: $13,590; Cumulative: $50,350,000
2. No Time to Kill (United Artists) Week 2; Last weekend #1
$24,299,000 (-56%) in 4,407 theaters (no change); PTA: $5,514; Cumulative: $99,509,000
3. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Sony) Week 3; Last weekend #2
$16,500,000 (-48%) in 4,013 theaters (-212); PTA: $4,112; Cumulative: $168,078,000
4. The Addams Family 2 (United Artists) Week 3; Last weekend #3; also on Premium VOD
$7,195,000 (-29%) in 3,607 theaters (-600); PTA: $1,995; Cumulative: $42,273,000
5. The Last Duel (Disney) NEW – Cinemascore: B+; Metacritic: 62; Est. budget: $100 million+
$4,820,000 in 3,065 theaters; PTA: $1,573; Cumulative: $4,820,000
6. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Dragons (Disney) Week 7; Last weekend #4
$3,540,000 (-18%) in 2,300 theaters (-500); PTA: $1,539; Cumulative: $218,071,000
7. Honsla Rakh (Indin) NEW
$(est.) 700,000 in 77 theaters; PTA: $9,091; Cumulative: $(est.) 700,000
8. Free Guy (Disney) Week 10; Last weekend #6; also on Premium VOD
$680,000 (-45%) in 915 theaters (-580); PTA: $743; Cumulative: $120,814,000
9. Lamb (A24) Week 2; Last weekend #8
$543,004 (-46%) in 767 theaters (+184); PTA: $628; Cumulative: $2,038,000
10. Most Eligible Bachelor (Sarigama)
$(est.) 470,000 in 195 theaters; PTA: $2,410; Cumulative: $(est.) 470,000
After a brutal summer, and let’s be honest, the previous 18 months, at least, the domestic box office is starting to pick up. Films like Venom: Let There Be Carnage, No Time to Die and now Halloween Kills are providing compelling content that is inspiring people to hit the theaters.
Now, the responsibility falls to upcoming films like Dune, The Matrix Resurrections and West Side Story to keep the momentum going and build on what James Bond, Michael Myers, Shang-Chi and Venom have accomplished.
Joia DaVida reports on the entertainment industry in both Chicago and Los Angeles.
