Despite Halloween Kills premiering simultaneously on NBC Universal’s streaming service (Peacock), negative reviews, and a pandemic, the sequel to the latest reboot of the evergreen John Carpenter original slayed all competitors at this weekend’s box office.
The David Gordon Green-directed sequel rang up $50.4 million, becoming the best horror opening in the pandemic era, besting Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II by a few million ($47.5 million).
Critics were not impressed by Green’s follow-up film, giving the latest Michael Myers’ kill-fest a score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes and those that exited the theater this weekend also delivered a lukewarm grade of B- on Cinemascore. Horror films are traditionally “review proof” and Halloween Kills certainly stayed the course, and the young fans who showed up this weekend didn’t care that they could watch the new film at home, deciding to partake in the communal scare experience.
Last week’s winner, No Time to Die, settled for second place and a $24.3 million haul. Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film now stands at $99.5 million domestically, and an additional $348.3 million overseas, where it has performed much better so far.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage continued to impress audiences, with an additional $16.5 million for third place and a three-week domestic tally of $168.1 million.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings finished in sixth place this weekend with $3.5 million, and continued to pad its lead as the highest grossing domestic film this year, currently sitting at $218 million.
Next week brings the long-awaited Dune film to theaters, as fans continue to show up at traditional theaters, giving exhibitors and movie theater owners a much needed shot in the arm.