'Halloween Ends' Has a Disappointing Opening Weekend
by EG
Halloween Ends, the last installment in the horror franchise's most recent trilogy, debuted in theaters over the weekend and took in more than 20% less in ticket sales than expected. The movie had the worst debut in the trilogy, opening below even last year's Halloween Kills. Halloween Ends still took the top spot at the box office, though, as the string of sleepy fall theater weekends continues. Read on for details.
David Gordon Green’s Halloween Ends isn’t having an entirely happy send-off at the box office.
The movie — the final in the trilogy returning Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode — opened to $41.2 million from 3,901 theaters, the lowest of the three films. Heading into the weekend, Hallloween Ends was expected to open in the same range as Halloween Kills, or $50 million.
Overseas, it scared up $17.2 million for a global start of $58.4 million against a modest $30 million budget.
Halloween Ends grossed more than enough to win the weekend domestically for Universal, Miramax and Blumhouse. It is only the twelfth film of 2022 so far to open to $40 million or more.
Both pics launched simultaneously on Peacock, so the day-and-date issue doesn’t entirely explain the difference at the box office. Universal and the streamers didn’t provide numbers but said the movie has become the most-watched series or film of all time over a 2-day period on the platform.
While the two films received roughly the same critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Halloween Ends received lower audience exit polls and a C+ CinemaScore, compared to B- for Halloween Kills.
After scaring up a healthy $5.4 million in Thursday previews, the numbers took a disappointing turn for Halloween Ends.
Green’s 2018 Halloween reboot debuted with a record-breaking $76.2 million on its way to earning north of $250 million worldwide. The well-reviewed pic also saw Nick Castle reprise his signature role as the menacing monster Michael Myers.
Halloween Ends no doubt is facing competition from Paramount’s sleeper horror hit Smile, which cleared $12.3 million in its third weekend to come in No. 2 and finish Sunday with a domestic total of $71.2 million and foreign tally of $66.4 million.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile placed No. 3 with $7.4 million for a domestic total of $22.8 million and $26.4 million globally, followed by fellow Sony pic The Woman King with $3.7 million for a domestic total of $59.7 million and worldwide cume of $76.5 million (eOne is a partner on Woman King).
David O. Russell’s troubled Amsterdam fell to $2.9 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $12 million and $18.6 million total. The star-packed film stands to lose New Regency $80 million to $100 million.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.