Weekend Box Office: 'Halloween' Spooking the Competition With $32M-$35M

The horror pic will jump the $100 million mark sometime on Friday, its eighth day in release.


Universal and Blumouse's Halloween will easily stay No. 1 in its second weekend with a projected $32 million-$35 million, according to early box-office returns. Also sometime on Friday, the sequel to the 1978 classic slasher pic will cross $100 million in North America.


Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween should drop less than 60 percent, a strong showing for a horror title.


Holdovers A Star Is Born and Venom will also stay high on the chart in their fourth weekends with a projected $12 million-$13 million and $9 million-$10 million, respectively.


If so, all three films will beat newcomer Hunter Killer, a submarine action pic from Lionsgate and Millennium that stars Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman and Common. Hunter Killer looks to open in the $7 million range from 3,990 theaters, enough for a fourth-place finish.


Overall, it is a relatively quiet weekend at the box office as consumers focus on early Halloween parties and other spooky festivities. As such, there is a dearth of major new studio offerings opening nationwide.


Hunter Killer follows an American submarine captain who tries to help stop a Russian coup that would topple that country's president. He assembles a team of Navy SEALs to rescue the kidnapped president and stop World War III from breaking out. Lionsgate acquired the rights from Millennium.


Opening in far fewer theaters is the faith-based film Indivisible, which looks to open in the $1.5 million-$2 million range from 830 locations, behind expectations. The pic is based on the true story of an Army chaplain and his wife who fight to save their marriage with the help of God.


Universal and Working Title are only targeting 544 cinemas for Johnny English Strikes Again, with Rowan Atkinson returning as the lovable, accidental secret agent. The movie is considered an international play and has already earned $100 million overseas. Based on early Friday returns, the pic is projected to gross a soft $1.2 million domestically (tracking had suggested it would earn $2 million).


A flurry of award contenders are opening select theaters at the specialty box office, including Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria (Amazon Studios), Maryam Keshavarz's Viper Club (Roadside Attractions), Ali Abbasi's Border (Neon) and Lee Chang-dong's Burning (Well Go USA).