“Halloween Kills,” the follow-up to 2018’s revival of the slasher franchise, is coming in well ahead of expectations.
Going into the weekend, the film was projected to be headed for a $35-40 million opening weekend. Estimates now however have been raised to $50.2 million following a $22.8 million Friday haul for the film.
The number is being described as the highest opening for a theatrical-day-and-date, non-transactional title and is seen as a good sign for “Dune” next week.
The higher number comes despite the film scoring mixed/weak reviews with critics (and a B- CinemaScore from audiences), and the movie being simultaneously available on Peacock’s premium subscription tiers.
The small size of Peacock’s premium userbase is seen as an upside here, the title’s theatrical run likely not being impacted much by the day-and-date release while also driving new subscriptions for the streamer which at $4.99 for one month is considerably cheaper than a film ticket.
Things aren’t faring so well for Ridley Scott’s theatrical only “The Last Duel” which is coming in considerably under already meager expectations – grossing just $1.86 million Friday for a weekend opening now looking to be at just $5 million.
“No Time to Die” meanwhile is headed for a second weekend of $24.4 million – a fall of around 56%.
Source: Deadline
