'Halloween Ends' leads box office opening weekend, but numbers lag behind other 'Halloween' films
'Halloween Ends' premiered in theaters on Oct. 14
"Halloween Ends" took the top spot at the box office over the weekend, debuting more than $40 million.
Touted as the final showdown between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, the slasher pic earned $41.3 million in ticket sales from 3,901 theaters in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"We are extraordinarily excited that Blumhouse once again delivered an incredible film and another No. 1 opening," said Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution. "Jamie Lee Curtis had audiences across North America engaged and terrified."
Going into the weekend, some analysts had pegged "Halloween Ends" for an opening in the $50 million to $55 million range. "Halloween Kills," the previous installment in the David Gordon Green-directed "Halloween" trilogy," opened day-and-date last year and still grossed $49 million on opening weekend.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Jamie Lee Curtis in a scene from "Halloween Ends." (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures via AP / AP Newsroom)
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This image released by Universal Pictures shows horror character Michael Myers in a scene from "Halloween Ends." (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures via AP / AP Newsroom)
Green’s first "Halloween," by contrast, debuted to $76.2 million in 2018.
"Halloween Ends" was released on the streaming platform Peacock on the same day it premiered in theaters. It's unclear if this affected the earning potential of the movie in comparison to "Halloween" and "Halloween Kills."
Peacock has roughly 13 million subscribers in comparison to Netflix's 220 million and Hulu's 46.2 million.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who stars in the trilogy as Laurie, recently noted that the "Halloween" films weren't intended to be a franchise.
"It wasn’t a franchise, and that’s the thing that I like to remind people," Curtis explained to Fox News Digital at Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights. "[Creators] John Carpenter and Debra Hill made one movie."
"They created this battle between good and evil. The fact that it has been stretched and pulled and extrapolated and expanded is beautiful, but inherently it’s the same story."
Jamie Lee Curtis starred as Laurie Strode for more than 40 years. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The top 10 grossing films of the weekend are as follows:
1. "Halloween Ends," $41.3 million.
2. "Smile," $12.4 million.
3. "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile," $7.4 million.
4. "The Woman King," $3.7 million.
5. "Amsterdam," $2.9 million.
6. "Don't Worry Darling," $2.2 million.
7. "Barbarian," $1.4 million.
8. "Bros," $920,000.
9. "Terrifier 2," $850,000.
10. "Top Gun: Maverick," $685,000.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.