When Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum revealed he suggested a dual release for Halloween Kills, it raised eyebrows among some. Could his newest horror release scare up enough box office while drawing viewers on Peacock? With the latest Halloween passing $50 million this weekend, Blum was right.
“It was my idea to do it. [Peacock] didn’t approach me. I approached them. I, like everyone else, am a big believer in the theatrical experience. I think eventually I think there should be windows. I think Universal’s strategy of the three-week window is a great strategy, but I had a bad distribution experience with Freaky. That movie is a great movie, and it didn’t get seen because the distribution of it got all twisted up. My fault.”
Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum to Collider
The fact that Halloween Kills almost bested the long awaited prestigious 007 entry ‘No Time to Die’ is remarkable. However, not totally unexpected as the horror genre has proved durable in the pandemic box office era.
For example, A Quiet Place Part II took the checkered flag with a big Memorial Day weekend. The Paramount film brought in $57 million across 3,726 locations. Furthermore, films like The Unholy were the initial building blocks as theaters slowly began to reopen earlier 2021.
Blum’s newest Halloween was well received by theater audiences. It’s Cinemascore stands at a B-.
The 2018 “Halloween” was a massive hit that opened to $76.2 million. A third sequel is planned to round out the trilogy. Expect it to lean on the winning formula of reintroducing original characters and call backs to the first film.
Ridley Scott’s historical epic The Last Duel bombed in its debut with $4.8 million domestically, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
