鈥淗alloween Kills鈥� may be available to watch at home, but the latest installment in the Michael Myers saga is making a killing at the North American box office in its first weekend in theaters. The David Gordon Green-directed horror scared up $50.4 million from 3,705 locations, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Universal鈥檚 鈥淗alloween Kills鈥� far surpassed expectations, which had the film pegged for a more conservative debut in the $30 million range. It also easily bested its main competition, which included the James Bond pic 鈥淣o Time to Die,鈥� in its second weekend, and Ridley Scott鈥檚 medieval epic 鈥淭he Last Duel.鈥� Both are playing exclusively in theaters.
The film picks up where Green鈥檚 2018 鈥淗alloween鈥� left off, on the same bloody night, with Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode. Some were surprised when the studio made the decision to release 鈥淗alloween Kills鈥� simultaneously in theaters and on NBC Universal鈥檚 Peacock for premium subscribers, but the day-and-date strategy does not seem to have hurt its box office haul.
鈥淒avid Gordon Green crafted an incredibly terrifying continuation of this franchise that our core audience was more than eager to come out to the theater to see,鈥� said Jim Orr, Universal鈥檚 head of domestic distribution. 鈥淎udiences want to be out, they want to be in theaters, and they want to experience it communally.鈥�
Before 鈥淗alloween Kills,鈥� which had a reported $20 million production budget, the biggest day-and-date opening of the year was Warner Bros.' 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� which grossed $32.2 million in its first weekend while also being available on HBO Max. It鈥檚 a best for a pandemic-era horror opening, narrowly beating out 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II.鈥�
The 2018 鈥淗alloween鈥� was a massive hit that opened to $76.2 million and went on to gross north of $256 million against a $10 million budget. And there are plans for a third that will close out the modern Michael Myers trilogy.
The opening weekend crowd for 鈥淗alloween Kills鈥� was slightly more male (52%), and it was diverse (36% Caucasian, 34% Hispanic and 18% Black), according to exit polls.
鈥淗orror movies have been a mainstay of the box office throughout the pandemic,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst. 鈥淎udiences just love seeing horror movies in a movie theater. ... But this also isn鈥檛 just a horror movie, 鈥楬alloween鈥� is a huge brand, and this is 43 years in the making.鈥�
The James Bond film 鈥淣o Time To Die鈥� slid into second place in its second weekend in North America with $24.3 million, which is down only 56% from last weekend and brings its total to $99.5 million. Globally, 鈥淣o Time to Die鈥� has earned $447,521 million.
Further down the charts is 鈥淭he Last Duel,鈥� Scott's 14th century drama starring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jodie Comer and Adam Driver, which has earned only an estimated $4.8 million from 3,065 locations despite positive reviews and an exclusive theatrical run. Distributed by the Walt Disney Co., 鈥淭he Last Duel鈥� was a title the company inherited in the deal with 20th Century Fox.
Next week Warner Bros.鈥� big budget adaptation of 鈥淒une鈥� opens in North American theaters and on HBO Max, as does Disney鈥檚 鈥淩on鈥檚 Gone Wrong鈥� and Wes Anderson鈥檚 鈥淭he French Dispatch.鈥�
鈥淓very week we鈥檙e getting a lesson in the dynamics of this marketplace as related to the various release models,鈥� said Dergarabedian. 鈥�'Halloween Kills' is important because people could have just sat at home where the buy-in was modest. This is evidence of the power of the movie theater and its allure and appeal to the moviegoer.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淗alloween Kills,鈥� $50.4 million.
2. 鈥淣o Time to Die,鈥� $24.3 million.
3. 鈥淰enom: Let There Be Carnage,鈥� $16.5 million.
4. 鈥淭he Addams Family 2,鈥� $7.2 million.
5. 鈥淭he Last Duel,鈥� $4.8 million.
6. 鈥淪hang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,鈥� $3.5 million.
7. 鈥淔ree Guy,鈥� $680,000.
8. 鈥淟amb,鈥� $543,000.
9. 鈥淐andyman,鈥� $460,000.
10. 鈥淒ear Evan Hansen,鈥� $410,000.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
