Monday Update: Only two weekends after Venom broke the record for best October opening ever, Halloween captured the second-best October opening ever with $76.2M.

Those are the top two openings for the month whether in pure dollars or adjusted for ticket price inflation.

Halloween debuted about in line with its already high expectations — riding a combination of nostalgia for the original 1978 Halloween, a timely tie-in to the upcoming October 31 holiday, a lack of much competition as the only new wide release, and the strongest two years in memory for horror at the box office between It, Get Out, A Quiet Place, and more.

In other box office news:

• A Star Is Born — after debuting the same weekend as Venom with about half the opening, then cutting the gap significantly last weekend — actually slightly overtakes its competitor this weekend, with $19.0M to Venom‘s $18.0M. That indicates strong word of mouth on Star‘s part, including the soundtrack debuting at #1 on the Billboard albums chart.
• The Hate U Give, which had been out for two weeks in limited release, expanded wide during its third overall weekend and took sixth place with $7.6M.
• A24’s Mid90s, the directorial debut of Jonah Hill, captured the best per-theater average of the weekend with a $258,157 start in four theaters, for $64,539 each.

Comparisons

Total box office this weekend was $165.0M.

That’s +20.9% above last weekend and 72.0% ahead of this same weekend last year, when Boo 2! A Madea Halloween led with $21.2M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $9.53B. That’s +11.0% ahead of this same date last year, up from +10.2% after last weekend.

Demographics

Halloween‘s audience was 51.2% female, 28.2% under age 25, and 30.0% over age 50.

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Venom at 66.3%, while the most female audience was A Star Is Born at 55.1%.

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Smallfoot at 60.7%, while the most over-25 audience was Bad Times at the El Royale at 87.5%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is included below:

Our full table of weekend actuals is below, followed by our Sunday update featuring fuller analysis.

Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 19 – SUN, OCT. 21

Sunday Update:

This year, Halloween came early.

Debuting to an estimated $77.5 million, Universal’s slasher reboot affirmed the enduring power of the immortal franchise in a powerful way and made yet another case for horror as arguably the most reliable genre going. Elsewhere, The Hate U Give enjoyed an impressive wide expansion while a slew of independent titles debuted to mixed results in limited release.

After nearly ten years away from the screen, the Halloween franchise proved as unstoppable as Michael Myers himself with the latest installment, thanks to a combination of strong reviews (80% at Rotten Tomatoes), a nostalgic pull for older audiences who grew up with the original movies, the much-heralded return of original star Jamie Lee Curtis, and an aggressive marketing campaign that made the film into a “must-see” event. Though few expected it to reach quite this high going into the weekend, signs were certainly pointing to a better-than-expected debut in the days leading up to release. Not only did Fandango report that Halloween was outselling The Nun ($53.8 million opening) at the same point in the sales cycle, but our own Trailer Impact research showed that 49 percent of audiences surveyed were “Definitely interested” in seeing the film, vs. 40 percent for The Nun at the same point.

Though it wasn’t quite able to topple Venom’s $80.2 million October opening record from earlier this month, Halloween did break a number of other records on its way to No. 1 this weekend. In addition to surpassing Venom‘s record for the highest Friday opening in October ($33.34 million vs. $32.5 million), it also scored the highest opening weekend in Halloween franchise history (a feat accomplished by the end of its first full day of release), and the highest opening weekend ever in the slasher sub-genre (far surpassing the Friday the 13th reboot’s $40.5 million debut back in 2009). Additionally, it’s the second-highest opening weekend ever for an R-rated horror film after the phenomenally-successful It, which brought in an eye-popping $123.4 million last September, and it marks Blumhouse’s highest opening weekend of all time, far surpassing Paranormal Activity 3‘s $52.5 million from 2011. In just its first weekend, it also far outgrossed the lifetime cume of every other film in the Halloween franchise, though adjusting for inflation, it still has a ways to go before topping the original Halloween‘s $176 million gross in 2018 dollars.

Remaining in second place for the third weekend in a row – and outgrossing Venom for the first time on the weekend chart – was Warner Bros.’ A Star Is Born, which took in an estimated $19.3 million in its third frame. That’s a drop of just 32 percent for the acclaimed title, which now has $126.3 million in the bank after 17 days. Though it was something of a tight race for the No. 2 slot, the Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper drama surpassed Venom in daily grosses every day last week thanks to excellent word of mouth and growing awards buzz, and it seems destined to continue demonstrating strong legs as we head deeper into the fall season.

In third place, Venom dropped took in an estimated $18.1 million, down 48 percent from last weekend. That gives the Sony release an excellent $171.1 million after 17 days. With this weekend’s gross, the Tom Hardy superhero title is now the studio’s top-grossing release of 2018, surpassing Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation‘s $167 million cume on Sunday.

After opening to a disappointing $16 million last weekend, Universal’s First Man dipped 46 percent to an estimated $8.5 million in its sophomore frame, giving it a so-so $30 million after ten days of release. Though it’s received largely positive reviews (it boasts a sturdy 89% at Rotten Tomatoes), the Neil Armstrong film hasn’t sparked with moviegoers as strongly as some had anticipated. At least some of its underperformance likely has to do with the recent controversy surrounding director Damien Chazelle’s decision not to focus on Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s planting of the American flag on the moon, as many prominent figures on the conservative end of the political spectrum, including President Donald Trump, have publicly blasted the creative choice. Looking at comparative titles, First Man‘s second-weekend drop is much higher than that of either Argo or Bridge of Spies, which eased just 15.5 percent and 26 percent, respectively, in their sophomore frames.

Last weekend’s other new wide opener, the family-friendly sequel Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, dipped 38 percent to an estimated $9.7 million, giving the Sony horror-comedy $28.8 million after ten days of release. That’s a fairly steep 35 percent off from the first Goosebumps‘ total at the same point, though the sequel has a comparatively thrifty reported budget of $35 million (vs. the first Goosebumps‘ $58 million). Luckily, Goosebumps 2 has no real competition for the family audience until the release of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms on November 2.

After an impressive two-weekend run in limited release, Fox Searchlight’s The Hate U Give expanded to 2,303 theaters and brought in a very good $7.5 million in sixth place. The YA drama has benefitted from almost universally-positive reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes rating is 96%), while the film’s “A+” Cinemascore suggests excellent word-of-mouth will buoy the youth-driven title in the weeks ahead.

Seventh and eighth place went to the four-week-old Smallfoot and Night School, respectively. The Warner Bros. animated comedy brought in an estimated $6.6 million, giving it $66.3 million to date. Night School, meanwhile, grossed an estimated $5 million, bringing its cume to $66.9 million.

In ninth place, Bad Times at the El Royale dropped 53 percent to an estimated $3.3 million, giving the star-studded thriller a total of $13.3 million after ten days of release. That’s a disappointing cume for the Fox title, which has had difficulty competing in a marketplace overcrowded with buzzier films.

Finally in tenth, The Old Man & The Gun expanded to 802 locations and brought in an estimated $2.05 million, which ranks as a reasonably successful expansion for the Robert Redford crime comedy. This follows three weekends of limited release for the Fox Searchlight title, which has been heralded as Redford’s final film (though the actor himself has walked back those comments in subsequent interviews). The critically-acclaimed caper has banked a total of $4.2 million to date.

Outside the Top 10, Annapurna’s The Sisters Brothers expanded to 1,141 locations and brought in an estimated $742, giving the Joaquin Phoenix-John C. Reilly release a weak per-screen average of just $605. Its total is $1.97 million to date.

Limited Release:

Mid90s enjoyed the most impressive start of any limited release opener this weekend, bringing in an estimated $249K on just four screens. That’s a per-screen average of $62,375, which makes it one of the best limited openings of 2018. Directed by Jonah Hill, the A24 comedy-drama about teenage skateboarders living in LA has received largely positive reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes score is 80%). The film is set to expand nationwide next weekend.

Opening in five locations, Fox Searchlight’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? brought in an estimated $150K, giving it a healthy per-screen average of $30,000. The fact-based comedic drama benefitted from excellent reviews and a rare, buzzed-about dramatic turn from star Melissa McCarthy.

IFC’s Wildlife opened in four theaters and brought in an estimated $105K on just four screens, giving it a per-screen average of $26,403. Starring Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Paul Dano, the period drama has received almost universally positive reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96%. Look for it to expand wider next weekend.

After opening to a terrific $282K last weekend on just four screens, Amazon Studios’ Beautiful Boy expanded to 48 locations and brought in an estimated $439K, giving it a per-screen average of $9,147. The Timothee Chalamet-Steve Carell drama now has $722K to date.

Overseas Update:

On top of its massive Stateside debut, Halloween took in an additional $14.3 million in 23 international markets this weekend, bringing its worldwide opening weekend haul to $91.8 million. 

Venom brought in an additional $32.3 million in 65 markets this weekend, bringing its international total to $290.7 million and its global cume of $461.2 million. Overseas tallies include $28.4 million in South Korea, $28.1 million in Russia, $21.8 million in the U.K., and $21.3 million in Mexico. It opens in China on November 9.

A Star Is Born brought in an estimated $22.8 million in 75 markets, bringing its overseas cume to $74.7 million and its worldwide total to $201.1 million.

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, OCT. 19 – SUN, OCT. 21