Meanwhile, in more “we get the movie industry we deserve” news, Ridley Scott’s terrific and well-reviewed The Last Duel ( review ) opened with just $1.8 million on Friday, including $350,000 in Thursday previews. Matt Damon as Jean de Carrouges and Adam Driver as Jacques LeGris in THE LAST DUEL Photo by Patrick Redmond. The blame for Malignant lies not in HBO Max, but in ourselves. If the movie does open to $50 million, it’ll mean that the streaming option didn’t really impact the theatrical opening weekend box office, which I’d argue has mostly been the case for the Warner Bros. It’s the biggest R-rated opening since Bad Boys for Life ($62 million Fri-Sun/$73 million Fri-Mon) in January 2020 and will probably remain so until The Matrix Resurrections on December 22. In pandemic-era comparisons, it may end up above the $47.5 million Fri-Sun debut (of a $57 million Fri-Mon Labor Day launch) of A Quiet Place part II to nab the year’s biggest horror debut (your move, Clifford The Big Red Dog). You were always going to lose “folks were curious the first time” viewers as well as moviegoers otherwise uninterested in slasher franchises but who showed up for “the event.” That’s especially true with negative reviews ( 45% rotten and 5.3/10) emphasizing the lack of Michael vs Laurie scenes.Ī $20 million horror movie opening with $50-$55 million on opening weekend is an absolute win.

An opening anywhere near Halloween in normal times, without Covid and the film streaming concurrently on Peacock, was not going to happen. A drop akin to It: Chapter 2 ($91 million versus $123 million) would equal $56 million (which, incidentally is 1.15 x 49).

A 1/3 opening weekend drop (think Fate of the Furious with $99 million and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with $148 million compared to Furious 7 with $147 million and Jurassic World with $208 million) would have given Halloween Kills a $50 million debut.

Halloween kills ipic