HALLOWEEN KILLS adds to the October momentum when it became the third title of the month to open at over $50M. That said, its $50.2M performance is somewhat of a disappointment, when compared to the $80M earned from the franchise’s prior chapter, HALLOWEEN, which opened three years ago in October 2018. Exhibition will point to the fact that this year’s film is the highest profile movie since August to be streamed day & date, an d that simultaneous online availability holds down box office grosses. Critics panned HK with a 39% not-so-fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 2018 HALLOWEEN which was considered to be a good movie with a 79% Fresh rating. Traditionally, audiences do not hold horror movies accountable for negative critics reviews, as the RT audience scores for both films were in the 70’s.
NO TIME TO DIE finished in second place with $24.2M, at drop of 56% from its opening weekend, which was somewhat more than expected. This final installment of a Daniel Craig Bond film is on a path to wind up as his lowest Domestic grossing output. By comparison, his first Bond film CASINO ROYALE did $167M in 2006.
VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE came in third place this weekend with $16.5M, a drop of 48% from last week. Finishing in 5th with only $4.8M was the other wide opening this week, THE LAST DUEL. Despite the fact that critics liked the film – 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes – and 20th Century Studios chipped in with a robust ad campaign, the Ridley Scott-directed film failed to draw much of an audience.
The first two weeks of October were the highest grossing weeks of the pandemic, with slightly more than $303M in grosses, topping the $299M earned during the two week stretch from July 9th and 16th. For two weeks in October to outgross any two weeks in the prime summertime slot is a testament to energy we are currently seeing. We anticipate that the momentum will continue next week based on the opening of DUNE.
