Once upon a time, October was seen as a prime release slot only for horror films and the occasional awards contender. But after this record month at the box office, no one will probably say that anymore.
ComScore reports that total grosses for October finished at a record-high of $822.9 million, 8.6 percent higher than the previous record of $757 million grossed in 2014 and an amazing 45 percent above the the $566.3 million grossed in October 2017.
That’s thanks to a diverse slate of well-received films led by bonafide blockbusters “Venom” and “Halloween,” which produced the top two highest October openings in industry history with $80.2 million and $76.2 million respectively. Warner Bros.’ awards contender “A Star Is Born” also contributed a strong $42 million. Combined, the three films accounted for 58 percent of this month’s gross with $480 million.
This is the fourth time in 2018 that a new monthly record has been set, with this year also holding the best February, April and June in box office history all with more than $1 billion grossed in each month. The annual total to date sits at $9.7 billion, putting 2018 on course to top that and possibly be the first $12 billion year in domestic box office history.