Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Halloween Ends” slayed the box office competition, collecting $41.25 million from 3,901 North American theaters in its opening weekend.
The movie had a softer start than expected (projections were closer to $50 million to $55 million) but it’s still impressive considering its simultaneous release on Peacock likely cut into ticket sales. “Halloween Ends” also faced unexpectedly steep competition from Paramount’s creepy thriller “Smile,” which continued its killer run with $12.4 million (a minimal 33% decline) in its third weekend of release.
The R-rated “Smile” has grossed $71.1 million in North America to date, a scary-good result since it cost $17 million to produce.
At a time when movie theaters have been struggling to bounce back from COVID, horror has been a consistent bright spot. “Horror films have been performing extremely well at the box office,” says David A.
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