‘Halloween’ scares up Box Office win

Published 6:17 am Saturday, November 3, 2018

NEW YORK — Michael Meyers — or is it Jamie Lee Curtis? — can’t be stopped. “Halloween” dominated the North American box office for the second straight weekend, carving up an estimated $32 million in ticket sales.

The top four films were all unchanged at the North American box office, according to Sunday estimates, as Hollywood left “Halloween” to dominate the pre-trick-or-treating weekend. The sequel to John Carpenter’s 1978 original, starring the 59-year-old Curtis as Laurie Strode, last week notched the biggest opening ever for a film with a female lead older than 55.

The Blumhouse Productions film, distributed by Universal Pictures, is already one of the highest grossing slasher films ever, with $126.7 million in ticket sales (plus another $45.6 million international) on just a $10 million budget. “Halloween,” directed by David Gordon Green, slid a relatively modest 58 percent — especially good for a horror release — after setting a record for an October debut last weekend.

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Bradley Cooper’s lauded “A Star Is Born” remained in second place with $14 million in its fourth weekend. The film, starring Cooper and Lady Gaga, has thus far grossed $148.7 million domestically, while proving an equally strong seller overseas for Warner Bros. It’s made $104.6 million internationally.

Sony’s superhero spinoff “Venom” also stuck in third with $10.8 million in its fourth weekend. The comic-book adaptation, starring Tom Hardy, has grossed $504.8 million worldwide.

That trio of “Halloween,” ″Venom” and “A Star Is Born” has driven the October box office to a new high. With a few days to go, monthly ticket sales have already surpassed the record of $757.1 million from 2014, according to comScore, with $789.9 million in sales in October — traditionally a fairly sleepy month in movie theaters.

The submarine thriller “Hunter Killer,” was deep-sixed with $6.7 million. The Lionsgate release and Millennium production, stars Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman and Common. Like previous Butler-led action films like “Den of Thieves,” ”Geostorm,” “London Has Fallen” and “Gods of Egypt,” “Hunter Killer” received poor reviews (36 percent “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes).