No matter how you look at the numbers, 鈥淗alloween Ends鈥� had a good opening weekend.

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. It鈥檚 the first film to open higher than $40 million since 鈥淣ope鈥� debuted in July and it surpassed its production budget, which has been reported to be between $20 and $30 million. Including international showings, it boasts a global total of $58.4 million.

It also renewed an evergreen debate about day-and-date movie releases and some in Hollywood are wondering whether it could have been even bigger if it hadn鈥檛 debuted simultaneously on Peacock, NBC Universal鈥檚 streaming service. Going into the weekend, some analysts had pegged 鈥淗alloween Ends鈥� for an opening in the $50 to $55 million range. 鈥淗alloween Kills,鈥� the previous installment in the David Gordon Green-directed 鈥淗alloween鈥� trilogy,鈥� opened day-and-date last year and still grossed $49 million on opening weekend.

Green鈥檚 first 鈥淗alloween,鈥� by contrast, debuted to $76.2 million in 2018. But that was pre-pandemic, theatrical release only and the highly anticipated revival of a beloved franchise with good reviews. His subsequent 鈥淗alloween鈥� films were more divisive among critics and fans, however. 鈥淜ills鈥� had a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score while 鈥淓nds鈥� has a 40%.

鈥淪mile,鈥� meanwhile, has continued to defy horror-movie odds with another strong weekend. Paramount鈥檚 original thriller added $12.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $71.2 million after three weeks.

In limited release, United Artists Releasing鈥檚 Mamie Till-Mobley film 鈥淭ILL鈥� got off to a strong start with $240,940 from only 16 locations. Director Chinonye Chukwu鈥檚 fact-based account of Emmett Till鈥檚 mother鈥檚 quest for justice will be expanding in the coming weeks.

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

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