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 unchanged, 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 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 new "Halloween" is already the biggest film in the franchise's history and one of the highest-grossing slasher films ever, with $126.7 million in ticket sales (plus another $45.6 million internationally) on just a $10 million budget. The latest installment, 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.
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. It's made $104.6 million internationally.
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.
"Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween," the kid-friendly sequel based on the R.L. Stine books, finished fourth with $7.5 million in its third weekend.
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," starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman and Common, was deep-sixed with $6.7 million. 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). But those films also fared far better abroad than in the U.S., something "Hunter Killer" will hope to repeat.
Other films in nationwide release also struggled to come anywhere close to the strong holdovers.
After a promising limited release last weekend, Jonah Hill's directorial debut, the coming-of-age skateboarding drama "Mid90s," took in a mediocre $3 million in slightly more than 1,200 theaters. The Christian war film drama "Indivisible" took in $1.6 million on 830 screens.
"Johnny English Strikes Again," the third film in the 15-year-old Rowan Atkinson comedy franchise, opened with a mere $1.6 million, though it, too, was designed with more of an international focus. (It's already earned $107.7 million overseas.)
One new bright spot was Luca Guadagnino's remake of the horror classic "Suspiria." Opening in just two theaters, it debuted with a very strong per-screen average of $89,903, a good start for Guadagnino's follow-up to his awards film "Call Me By Your Name." The new "Suspiria" has been somewhat divisive among critics (69 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes).
Final numbers are expected Monday.
Contributing: Kim Willis
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