411 Box Office Report: Halloween Reigns For Second Weekend

It was another bloody weekend at the box office, with Halloween retaining the top spot. The slasher film revival brought in $32 million to hold onto #1. That tally is down 58% from last weekend, a solid number for the genre. By comparison, Freddy vs. Jason slipped 64% in its second weekend with comparable hype, while the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th infamously fell 81%.

The new numbers give the Michael Myers film a total of $126.7 million domestically and $172.3 million worldwide as it expands to other international territories. In non-inflation numbers, the film is now the highest domestic-grossing slasher film of all-time (ahead of Scream’s $103 million). It is looking likely to finish out with around $200 million to $210 million by the end of its box office run right now, making it an enormous hit on a production budget of $10 million.

A Star Is Born held onto the #2 spot for the fourth straight weekend with $14.1 million. That’s a drop of just 26%, which continues the musical drama’s great run thus far. The Bradley Cooper-directed film is going to continue this trend, too. Thus far it has $148.7 million domestically and $253.3 million worldwide, with a probably final US tally around $200 million. The budget was just $36 million.

Venom held on well in its fourth weekend, slipping 40% to $10.8 million. Sony has to be happy with their superhero film, which at this point has $187.3 million domestically and $508.4 million worldwide on a $100 million budget. Impressively, the film is holding onto its weekend totals better at this point than Logan did last year. It should be able to end its run at about $215 million domestically and is a money maker for the studio, putting the other Spider-Verse films (and a sequel) on solid ground.

Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween held on very well as the top choice for families ahead of the holiday. The supernatural sequel brought in $7.5 million, off a mere 23% for the best hold in the top ten. Haunted Halloween is now up to $38.3 million domestically and $62.5 million worldwide. With a $35 million budget, it is still going to be cutting it close on profits, but it won’t be a money loser at the very least. A final domestic total of $50 million to $52 million seems likely.

Hunter Killer was the highest-profile new release, and it landed with a relative thud. The submarine-set action thriller raised just $6.7 million, coming in below the $8 million to $9 million that most predicted it would do. Even the higher number would have been bad news for Lionsgate on this fairly costly midrange film, which had a production budget of $40 million.

The writing was really on the wall here, though. Lionsgate underpromoted it, perhaps realizing that it wouldn’t be doing much business, and the critical reception did it no favors. The Rotten Tomatoes average came in at 36%. While action films don’t normally rely on critical buzz, Halloween and Venom took all its younger audience away, leaving the older crowd who pay more attention to reviews. The audience was 85% over twenty-five, which made a big difference.

The good news is that most who did go to see the film liked it. The movie has a very good A- CinemaScore, which may help it hold on better in successive weeks if it can hold onto any theaters. But there’s only so far a film can go after opening so low. A domestic total of $22 million seems to be the upshot, and overseas won’t make up enough ground for this not to lose money.

The Hate You Give held on okay in its second weekend of wide release, scoring $5.1 million. The young adult novel adaptation was down 33%, which is much better than most films made from that fiction genre. The topical drama now stands at $18.3 million domestically and $19.6 million worldwide on a $23 million budget. If it continues to hold on well, it should make it to $35 million in the US.

First Man slipped 41% in its third weekend to $4.9 million. The Neil Armstrong drama has captured $37.9 million domestically and $74.5 million worldwide, where it has been expanding. There’s still a good way yet to go before it makes back its $59 million budget plus marketing, but if it can continue to do well overseas that’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Smallfoot was off just 28% in its fifth weekend, bringing in $4.8 million. The animated family comedy stands at $72.6 million domestically and $167.6 million worldwide, and looks likely to make a tiny profit for Warner Bros. It should end its domestic stint at around $83 million domestically. The budget was $80 million.

Night School edged down 33% in its fifth weekend with $3.3 million. The comedy has totaled $71.5 million in the US and $90.6 million worldwide, making it profitable against its $29 million budget. The domestic run should end around $80 million.

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s expanded this weekend to 1,206 theaters with a mild but reasonable $3 million. The coming-of-age dramedy came into theaters well-liked (78% on RT), but that didn’t do much to draw attention to this underpromoted film. There’s no word on its budget, but with a moderate start it seems unlikely to get much beyond $10 million domestically.

Halloween will cede the top spot next weekend as Freddie Mercury lives again. Bohemian Rhapsody opens in the US (having already grossed a great $12.2 million in the UK this weekend) and is targeting a mid- to high-$30 million start. Family audiences will have a new option in Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, which should hit around $20 million, while Tyler Perry’s Nobody’s Fool should start in the low teens and arthouse horror remake Suspiria goes wide.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Halloween – $32 million ($126.7 million total)
2. A Star Is Born – $14.1 million ($148.7 million total)
3. Venom – $10.8 million ($187.2 million total)
4. Goosebumps: Haunted Halloween – $7.5 million ($38.3 million total)
5. Hunter Killer – $6.7 million ($6.7 million total)
6. The Hate U Give – $5.1 million ($18.3 million total)
7. First Man – $4.9 million ($37.9 million total)
8. Smallfoot – $4.8 million ($72.6 million total)
9. Night School – $3.3 million ($71.5 million total)
10. Mid90s – $3 million ($3.4 million total)