Halloween is officially on the verge of making history.
Not only is the David Gordon Green-directed sequel effectively hitting the reset button for Michael Myers and Co., but Deadline has crunched the numbers to reveal that next month’s buzz-worthy horror hit is tracking for a $45M-$50M opening in North America – easily surpassing the $26M record previously held by Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake.
If these figures hold true, the Halloween of 2018 would set a new record for the slasher franchise, and help bring the curtain down on what has been a truly incredible year for horror cinema – think A Quiet Place, The Nun and Hereditary… to name but three.
The real question, of course, is whether Halloween has the necessary mileage to raise the bar for R-rated movies, as that $45M ballpark places it in close proximity to The Conjuring ($41.8 million), The Conjuring 2 ($40.4 million) and The Nun, whose massive $53.8 million opening floored analysts earlier this month.
Excitement for the David Gordon Green sequel is undoubtedly through the roof, and the fact that Halloween is releasing in time for the franchise’s 40th anniversary will only work in the film’s favor. The critical consensus (our review) has been generally favorable, too, with many reviews showering praise on Halloween‘s direction and the powerhouse performance from Jamie Lee Curtis.
The latter is back, back, back as Laurie Strode, the original Final Girl of this genre and one of the key driving forces behind Halloween. She’s also a natural with horror fans, and her deep, abiding love of this franchise will only amplify Curtis’ performance once Halloween begins stalking theaters on October 19th.
$50M is the current figure to beat, and we’ll be bringing you all the latest as box office analysts begin to finalize their predictions.