“Halloween” continues to rule the final days of October, as the Universal/Blumhouse sequel stays atop the box office charts with $32 million grossed in its second weekend.
That result is 58 percent down from the film’s studio record $76.2 million opening, better than the 66 percent drop that “The Nun” faced last month after its $53 million start. With a 10-day total of $126 million, the film already ranks third among all Blumhouse releases and should easily pass the theatrical run of “Split” ($138.2 million) for the No. 2 spot this coming week, especially with Halloween night providing a big midweek boost.
“Halloween” is accounting for roughly a third of all grosses this weekend, with the total for the weekend currently being estimated at $101 million. That puts October’s calendar gross at approximately $736 million and on pace to pass the month’s record of $757 million grossed in 2014 on Monday.
“A Star Is Born” is No. 2 for the fourth straight weekend, continuing to show strong holds with just a 27 percent drop and $14 million fourth weekend, giving the awards contender a total of $148.6 million. “Venom” is in third with $10.8 million, bringing it closer to the $200 million domestic mark with a current total of $187 million.
“Goosebumps 2” takes fourth with $7.5 million in its third weekend, beating out newcomer “Hunter Killer” with $6.6 million from 2,720 screens. Released by Lionsgate through Summit Entertainment, who acquired the U.S. and U.K. distribution rights to this $40 million film, “Hunter Killer” was panned by critics with 32 percent Rotten Tomatoes but received an A- on CinemaScore. Still, with “Bohemian Rhapsody” coming out next weekend, this film is expected to aim for profits through overseas markets.
Farther down on the charts are Pure Flix’s “Indivisible” and Universal’s “Johnny English Strikes Again,” which received targeted release on 830 and 533 screens, respectively. Both films grossed an estimated $1.5 million opening this weekend, but that’s fine, at least for “Johnny English,” which is a much more popular series overseas with over $100 million grossed.
Meanwhile, way down the charts, the Amber Heard movie “London Fields” posted the second-lowest wide release of all-time with just $190,000 from 613 screens, making a per screen average of just $262. Wide releases are classified as films with screen counts of 600 or more.
“London Fields,” which stars Heard as a femme fatale murdered by one of three potential suitors, was caught in three years of legal troubles, with director Matthew Cullen accusing the producers of tampering with the final cut while the producers sued Heard for breach of contract for refusing to do nude scenes or appear at the film’s 2015 TIFF premiere. The Heard lawsuit was recently settled, while the Cullen lawsuit is set to go to court in February.