Horror movies have been making big splashes at the box office in recent years, with movies like SPLIT, ANNABELLE: CREATION and IT all crossing $100 million (IT within the first weekend) last year, and A QUIET PLACE and THE NUN making big bucks this year. That means things are looking great for the upcoming HALLOWEEN movie, and so far the current projections predict the movie will cut up the box office with a possible $50-60 million first weekend.
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The estimate comes from Box Office Pro, and they predict the movie could even overperform and earn as much as $85 million (which may be a bit high). The movie’s hype is being bolstered by very positive reactions to the slew of trailers, as well as the strong reviews coming out of TIFF. Right now, projections are placing the movie VENOM for a slightly bigger opening, but it looks like both movies could be duking it out for the best October opening on record.
BOP is basing their estimates on several factors, including the excitement people have over the return of series originals John Carpenter (as a producer and composer) and star Jamie Lee Curtis. Another factor is the current social media metrics for the movie, with the online buzz higher than where movies like A QUIET PLACE and SPLIT were at a few weeks before their releases, and they opened to $50 million and $40 million respectively. However, they did note that other highly-anticipated movies like BLADE RUNNER 2049 and ALIEN: COVENANT had high hopes, all before coming in below expectations at the box office.
Still, horror movies are a little more accessible than sci-fi films, and even if they all don’t go on to make $100 million the ones with enough hype behind them do have a tendency to open big. Folks seem really excited about this movie, and the level of hype behind it is akin to a summer blockbuster, and even if it doesn’t make IT money, it should still have a strong opening as people flock to see some classic slasher thrills.
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HALLOWEEN arrives on October 19.