Michael Myers is back for Halloween Kills and he’s not only bringing no mercy to Haddonfield following Laurie Strode’s solid attempt to get rid of him once and for all, he’s stabbing the competition at the box office this weekend. After its first couple days in theaters, the Universal flick is tracking above early projections and is set to have a very successful opening weekend. Yes, even though it’s also available to see on Peacock.
Halloween Kills was initially expected to make in the neighborhood of $30 to $40 million on the domestic front, but on Thursday night it made $4.85 million and $22.86 on Friday and is heading into a $50 million haul by the end of the weekend. According to Deadline, these opening numbers for Halloween Kills would make the return of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode the highest opening for a movie since the pandemic with a same-day streaming option, without an extra fee, which counts out Disney+ Premier Access films Cruella, Black Widow and Jungle Cruise.
It’s yet another win for horror movies in theaters following the successes of films like Candyman and The Forever Purge, which also came from Universal. The big difference with Halloween Kills is it’s the first live-action film from the studio to get a day-and-date release on Peacock. (In September, DreamWorks’ Boss Baby: Family Business was the first Universal film to get this treatment).
Other high-performing films this year that have also been available to view free with a streaming subscription are Godzilla vs. Kong, The Suicide Squad, Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and Space Jam: A New Legacy, which had opening domestic weekends ranging from $24 to $31.6 million. The difference here with Halloween Kills is it's available on Peacock, which is on the lower end of subscriber bases for streaming services.
In March 2021, it was reported that Peacock, which also offers a free with ads tier for their service, had just 3 million paid U.S. subscribers, which is a far cry from Netflix’s reported 66.2 million, Hulu’s 41.6 million, Disney+’s 38 million and HBO Max’s 20.7 million. The decision to place Halloween Kills on Peacock is undoubtedly a strategy for Universal to get more eyes on its streaming service, but it looks like the move has not dampened the theatrical success of the sequel.
2018’s Halloween, which was director David Gordon Green’s first of a trilogy with Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, made $76 million domestically in its first weekend before racking up $255 million worldwide on a budget of just $10 million. Given the circumstances, Halloween Kills is set to be another success for the franchise. We’ll keep you updated on how this weekend’s box office plays out here on CinemaBlend.
