'Halloween' scares up ticket sales of $ 77.5 million



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By LINDSEY BAHR

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Forty years after his first appearance in theaters, Michael Myers continues to attract a huge audience for a good scare.

Universal Pictures said Sunday that "Halloween" brought in about $ 77.5 million in North American theatrical sales.

He won first place at the box office with the second highest horror opening of all time, behind "It" last year.
It was also the second largest opening ever in October after the launch of "Venom's" of $ 80.3 million earlier this month.

The studio also claims it's the biggest movie opener of all time, with a female star over 55, in star Jamie Lee Curtis.

David Gordon Green has directed "Halloween," which recalls Curtis as Laurie Strode and Nick Castle as Michael Myers, and essentially ignores the events of John Carpenter's other sequels and derivatives.

Critics have been largely positive for the new opus, with a rating of 80% on rotten tomatoes and a score in cinema B + audiences generally older (59% out of 25) and male (53%). Internationally, "Halloween" generated $ 14.3 million in 23 markets.

Blumhouse, the store behind "Get Out" and many other budget-priced horror movies, have co-produced "Halloween" with Miramax. It costs only $ 10 million.

"You take the nostalgia for" Halloween ", especially with the return of Jamie Lee Curtis, and you combine that with the Blumhouse brand and its contemporary motto in the genre.He just allowed to get a ridiculously powerful combination at the box office this weekend, "said Jim Orr, president of the Universal Home Distribution.

At 10 days of vacation, including another weekend, the studio expects that "Halloween" has a much longer life span than typical horror movies, whose fall is usually important after the first weekend.

"Halloween" was enough to knock down the comic book "Venom" from first place and third place. At his third weekend in the poster, he raised $ 18.1 million, bringing his national total to $ 171.1 million.

Meanwhile, "A star is born" retained the second place at its third weekend with $ 19.3 million. The television series Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have earned $ 126.4 million from North American theaters and are expected to break $ 200 million Sunday around the world.

Neil Armstrong's biographical film about Damien Chazelle, "First Man", dropped to fifth place on his second weekend, earning $ 8.6 million, down 46% since its launch.

It was a particularly busy week at the box office, with critically acclaimed films such as "The Hate U Give" for young adults and Robert Oldford's "The Old Man & The Gun" at the national level after a few weeks of limited circulation.

"The Hate U Give", currently spread over 2,303 sites, is ranked sixth with $ 7.5 million, and "The Old Man & The Gun" ranks 10th with 2.1 million dollars from 802 sites.

A number of well-received peasants also made their debut. Mid90s, Jonah Hill's debut feature, was released in four theaters with $ 249,500 (an average of $ 62,375 per theater).

Melissa McCarthy's film "Can you ever forgive me", about the literary forger Lee Israel, brought in $ 150,000 in five different locations.

October has never been a particularly strong month at the box office, but 2018 has helped change that. The weekend has increased by almost 72% compared to the same weekend last October and 11% to date.

"The industry is currently well engaged," said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore senior media analyst. "The audience reacts to movies, big and small, right now. You can have your fast food and movie gastronomy at the same time. The cinema experience is as viable and relevant as ever. "

Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where applicable, the latest international issues from Friday to Sunday are also included. Final national figures will be released Monday.

1. "Halloween", $ 77.5 million ($ 14.3 million international).
2. "A star is born", 19.3 million dollars (22.8 million international dollars).
3. "Venom", $ 18.1 million ($ 32.3 million international).
4. "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", $ 9.7 million ($ 6.2 million internationally).
5. "First man", $ 8.6 million ($ 13.4 million international).
6. "The Hate U Give", $ 7.5 million.
7. "Smallfoot", $ 6.6 million ($ 14 million international).
8. "Night School", $ 5 million ($ 1.5 million international).
9. "Bad Times At The El Royale", $ 3.3 million ($ 2.5 million international).
10. "The Old Man & The Gun", $ 2 million.

Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday in international theaters (excluding the United States and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "Venom", $ 32.3 million.
2. "A star is born", $ 22.8 million.
3. "Gutenberg Project", $ 14.7 million.
4. "Halloween", $ 14.3 million.
5. "Small foot", $ 14 million.
6. "First man", $ 13.4 million.
7. "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween", $ 6.2 million.
8. "The spy who dropped me", $ 5.7 million.
9. "Lost, Found", $ 5.3 million.
10. "Hichki", $ 4 million.

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