LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Universal and Blumhouse's horror film "Halloween" dominated North American box office in its opening weekend with an estimated 77.5 million U.S. dollars, scoring the second biggest horror opening weekend of all-time.
The film's massive three-day debut is only behind the 123.4-million-dollar debut of Warner Bros. Pictures' supernatural horror film "It" in 2017. "Halloween" also scored the second biggest October opening weekend ever, only behind Sony's "Venom" released earlier this month.
Directed by David Gordon Green, "Halloween" is the eleventh installment in the Halloween film series, and a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name.
"The Blumhouse formula strikes again in spectacular fashion as the venerable and iconic franchise brings back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode to battle the epitome of pure evil in the form of Michael Myers in this 2018 instant hit," wrote movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore in an email to Xinhua.
"Halloween" received a "B+" rating from moviegoers on CinemaScore and a 80 percent certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Costing just 10 million dollars to produce, the film earned 14.3 million dollars from 23 overseas markets for a global total of 91.8 million dollars to date, according to studio figures collected by comScore.
Warner Bros.' romantic drama "A Star Is Born" remained in second place for the third weekend in a row with an estimated 19.3 million dollars, pushing its North American total to 126.37 million dollars to date.
The remake of the 1937's film of the same name is directed by Bradley Cooper, in his directorial debut, and stars Cooper and pop singer Lady Gaga among others. The plot follows a hard-drinking musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer, Lady Gaga's first lead role on the big screen.
Sony's superhero film "Venom" moved to third place in its third weekend with an estimated 18.1 million dollars. The film has brought in a total of 171.12 million dollars in North America.
Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film is directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Oscar nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom, one of Marvel's most enigmatic, complex and badass characters. The plot follows a journalist Eddie Brock who is bound to an alien symbiote that gives him superpowers.
Sony's horror comedy "Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" landed in fourth place with an estimated 9.71 million dollars in its second weekend.
Based on R.L. Stine's 400-million-selling series of books, the film is the sequel to 2015's "Goosebumps" and follows two young boys accidentally releasing Slappy the Dummy and the Goosebumps monsters in their town, causing a wave of destruction on Halloween night.
Universal's biographical drama film "First Man" finished fifth with an estimated 8.56 million dollars in its second weekend.
Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film is directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became the first man to walk on the Moon in 1969 during Apollo 11 mission.
