While Venom still reigns supreme as the top October opener of all time, Halloween's debut weekend is still far more treat than trick. Director David Gordon Green's update on the John Carpenter classic took in $77.5 million, the second best opening for an R-rated horror flick of all time behind 2017's IT ($153 million). For the record, this is by far the best opening in the 11-film Halloween franchise, absolutely murdering the $26 million pulled in by Rob Zombie's 2007 remake.
Halloween was shot on a classic Blumhouse micro-budget of $10 million, making Michael Myers return to his hometown of Haddonfield a horrifying success for the studio. The film sees Jamie Lee Curtis reprising the role of Laurie Strode for the first time since 2002's Halloween: Ressurection—which has been forgotten by the 2018 entry and we will never speak of again—lending a bit of authenticity to the project along with Carpenter's brand new score.
Really, the lesson here is that business is absolutely a-boomin' in October, not typically a hot month for the box office. A Star Is Born actually out-performed Venom for the first time, stirring up $19 million in its first weekend. Bradley Cooper's directorial debut—he also stars as greasy-haired country-rocker Jackson Maine—is riding a wave of awards buzz and a lead performance from Lady Gaga that will absolutely mess your stuff right up in the most beautiful way possible.
If A Star Is Born is riding a wave, First Man is struggling to break the surface. In its second weekend, Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic nabbed a lukewarm $8.5 million, bringing the film's domestic total to around $30 million. That's a 46.5% drop from week one to week two, for those keeping track at home. Ryan Gosling stars as the famously reserved first astronaut to step foot on the moon.
Check out the weekend's top 10 estimates below, and be back here next week to see if Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria remake can conjure up anything at the box office.
Rank |
Title |
Weekend |
Total |
1. |
Halloween |
$77,501,000 |
$77,501,000 |
2. |
A Star Is Born |
$19,300,000 |
$126,376,246 |
3. |
Venom |
$18,105,000 |
$171,125,095 |
4. |
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween |
$9,715,000 |
$28,804,812 |
5. |
First Man |
$8,565,000 |
$29,999,050 |
6. |
The Hate U Give |
$7,500,000 |
$10,641,873 |
7. |
Smallfoot |
$6,615,000 |
$66,366,035 |
8. |
Night School |
$5,000,000 |
$66,906,825 |
9. |
Bad Times at the El Royale |
$3,300,000 |
$13,341,801 |
10. |
The Old Man & The Gun |
$2,050,000 |
$4,200,856 |