Universal’s Halloween Ends is coming in softer-than-expected with an estimated $41.2 million three-day opening, which is below even the lowest projections that it had going into its debut weekend. The film made $13 million on Saturday, down from the $20.2 million that it picked up on Friday (including $5.4 million in Thursday previews). This sounds solid, relatively speaking, but not when you consider that Halloween Ends was expected to make between $50 million and $55 million in its opening weekend.
A trio of factors could have affected its debut. A day-and-date release on the Peacock streaming service, a series-low C+ CinemaScore, and yet another strong performance by Paramount’s holdover hit Smile are all likely impacting Halloween Ends at the box office. By comparison, the first installment in director David Gordon Green’s reboot trilogy — 2018’s Halloween — opened to $76.2 million, with an eventual $255 million global finish. The second entry in the reboot trilogy, Halloween Kills, made $49 million in its first weekend, and rounded out its theatrical run with $131 million worldwide. Halloween Kills was also released day-and-date on Peacock, which along with its mixed reviews could have been a major reason behind its 71% second-weekend drop.
A $41 million opening is still a win for a film budgeted at a reported $33 million (earlier reports pegged the price tag at $20 million). But Halloween Ends had the all-important “final film” factor going for it, and a marketing game plan that focused on the long-awaited ultimate showdown between horror icons Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Most reviews are calling it a missed opportunity. A slight silver-lining: Universal is saying that the film is the most-watched title across two days on Peacock. But studios might want to rethink the hybrid rollout strategy; Warner Bros. famously tasted dirt (and lost Christopher Nolan) after a similar fiasco last year.
Finishing in second-place after two weekends at the top of the charts, Smile is expected to ease by just 35% in its third weekend. The film is looking at a $12 million third weekend, after over-performing yet again. It finished both its opening and sophomore weekends with higher-than-expected totals, and has now made an excellent $71 million stateside, against a reported budget of $17 million.
Sony’s kid-friendly live-action/animated hybrid Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile will claim the third spot with an estimated $7.4 million second weekend, for a running domestic total of just over $22 million. There’s still a way to go before the film passes its reported $50 million budget, and Sony would’ve wanted the film to play more like its Peter Rabbit movies, which delivered a combined global gross of over $500 million.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s historical drama The Woman King has now crossed the $60 million mark domestically, after an estimated $3.7 million fifth weekend. Produced on a reported budget of $50 million, the well-reviewed film has been quietly holding strong at the box office in anticipation of some awards season action in the next few weeks. Rounding out the top five this weekend is 20th Century Studios’ big-budget bomb Amsterdam, which is looking at an estimated $2.9 million second weekend, for a running domestic total of around $12 million. The star-studded period caper from director David O. Russell cost a handsome $80 million to produce, and is expected to lose as much as $100 million for the studio, becoming one of the most notorious flops of the year.
Total business this weekend is estimated to be just under $80 million, which is down 27% from the same weekend last year, when bigger films such as No Time to Die and Venom: Let There Be Carnage were in play. You can watch our interview with Halloween Ends director Green below, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.