Halloween looks to make a killing at box office with projected $70 million debut

Halloween is looking to make October-timed horror movies profitable again. According to trade reports, the latest chapter in the Michael Myers killing spree saga, starring Jamie Lee Curtis as horror icon Laurie Strode, is projected to earn an estimated $70 million — maybe more — during its opening this weekend.

There used to be a time when horror movies were largely scheduled outside of the Halloween time slot as to not compete with proven moneymakers like Saw and Paranormal Activity. Even last year, Jigsaw (part of the Saw franchise) was pretty much the one major horror release from the month. (Critics would prefer to forget The Snowman.) The year before that, it was Ouija: Origin of Evil.

This pattern has been changing over the past few years and now Halloween, one of the most iconic horror franchises of all time, is predicted to deliver the best showing ever for a title opening domestically in the Halloween time slot. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Universal is predicting a more modest $50 million weekend opening in the US, which would still be a win for the R-rated film.

Halloween, which sees Laurie once again facing Michael after narrowly escaping with her life in the original 1978 film, came out of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September with glowing reviews, no doubt upping the hype around the franchise’s comeback from director David Gordon Green.

Venom and A Star Is Born already helped make this October one of the most memorable for the U.S. box office. Now, it’s Laurie’s turn.

Halloween opens in theaters Friday.

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