True to form, Michael Myers has returned with his eyes already fixed on his next victim.David Gordon Green’sHalloweensequel rose from the dead to the tune of $33 million on Friday night, putting it on track for an $80 opening weekend. If those numbers stay steady,Halloweenwould put a knife through the October record that was just set a few weeks ago by Sony’sVenom. (Tom Hardy’s pancreas-snackin' buddy flick earned $32.7 million in its Friday night debut.)
The film—which seesJamie Lee Curtisreprising the role of Laurie Strode 40 years after Michale Myers stalked her one fateful Halloween—is already on pace to open as the second-highest grossing R-rated horror movie of all time, behind 2017’sITdirected byAndy Muschietti. This newHalloweenis a direct sequel toJohn Carpenter’s 1978 original, with the script by Green,Danny McBride, andJeff Fradleyignoring all other sequels. (Sorry, Cult of Thorn fans, ya weirdos.) Critics are eating it up—our ownPerri Nemiroff declared"the franchise is back to form"—and audiences gave this new and improved Shape a B+ CinemaScore.
Meanwhile,First Mancan’t even get off the launching pad. WithA Star Is Bornstill hitting its high notes andVenom’s bond with audiences proving unbreakable—thost films earned $5.7 million and $5 million this weekend, repspectively—Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic starringRyan Goslingshared a fifth-place finish withThe Hate U Give, both earning $2.5 million. The kicker, though, is that awards-hopeful YA adaptionHate U Giveplayed on 1,337 fewer screens. Both films just barely landed below kid-horror sequelGoosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, which nabbed $2.53 million in its second weekend.
Take a look at Friday’s numbers below and check back tomorrow for full weekend estimates. (Numbers viaBox Office Mojo)
$33,340,000
A Star Is Born
$5,700,000
$112,776,246
$5,050,000
$158,070,095
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
$2,535,000
$21,624,812
The Hate U Give
$2,500,000
$5,641,873
