Halloween Ends Tops Opening Weekend Box Office but Fails To Meet Projections

Halloween Ends is coming in short of expectations even as it secures the top spot in its opening weekend at the box office. The third and final installment of the rebooted Halloween trilogy will earn around $43.4 million in its first three days, more than $10 million shy of its $55 million projections. The gap between reality and projections may be the result of Halloween Ends . However, despite underperforming, the film is still more than recouping its $30 million budget, which should count as a win on the studios’ box office scorecard.

Halloween Ends is struggling with critics and audiences. It has a C+ CinemaScore and a rotten 39% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where’s its critics’ consensus reads, “Halloween Ends — for now, anyway — with a frequently befuddling installment that’s stabbed, slashed, and beaten by a series of frustrating missed opportunities.” ComicBook.com’s Patrick Cavanaugh gave the film a 2-out-of-5 score in his review. He writes:

“In 1963, a young boy mysteriously murdered his sister. 15 years later, he escaped a mental institution and terrorized his hometown. 40 years later, he was let loose on the town once again, not only delivering a staggering number of deaths, but also surviving gunshots, stabbings, bludgeonings, and even a fiery inferno. Halloween Ends attempts to use a current-day story to explain how such a thing was possible, yet only ever feels like a rough draft. Halloween deserves better, Laurie deserves better, and even Michael Myers, a ruthless serial killer, somehow deserves better than what was offered in Halloween Ends.”

Halloween Ends is now playing in theaters and is streaming on Peacock. A full list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend is currently in the works.

1. Halloween Ends

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $43.4 million

Four years after her last encounter with masked killer Michael Myers, Laurie Strode is living with her granddaughter and trying to finish her memoir. Myers hasn’t been seen since, and Laurie finally decides to liberate herself from rage and fear and embrace life. However, when a young man stands accused of murdering a boy that he was babysitting, it ignites a cascade of violence and terror that forces Laurie to confront the evil she can’t control.

David Gordon Green directed Halloween Ends from a screenplay he co-wrote with Danny McBride, Paul Brad Logan, and Chris Bernier. The film stars Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Rohan Campbell, and Kyle Richards.

2. Smile

• Week Three
• Weekend: $12 million
• Total: $70.7 million
  

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.

Parker Finn directed Smile, expanding on his 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept. Smile stars Sosie Bacon, Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn, and Rob Morgan.

3. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

• Week Two
• Weekend: $7.25 million
• Total: $11.5 million
  

When the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son, Josh, struggles to adapt to his new school and friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle, a singing crocodile that loves baths, caviar and great music. The two become fast friends, but when evil neighbor Mr. Grumps threatens Lyle’s existence, the Primms must band together to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places.

Will Speck and Josh Gordon directed Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile from a screenplay by William Davies, based on the children’s books Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber. It stars stars Shawn Mendes, Javier Bardem, Constance Wu, Winslow Fegley, Scoot McNairy, and Brett Gelman.

4. The Woman King

• Week Five
• Weekend: $3.77 million
• Total: $59.8 million
  

In the 1800s, a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Faced with a new threat, Gen. Nanisca trains the next generation of recruits to fight against a foreign enemy that’s determined to destroy their way of life.

Gina Prince-Bythewood directed The Woman King from a screenplay by Dana Stevens, based on a story she wrote with Maria Bello. The film stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega.

5. Amsterdam

• Week Two
• Weekend: $2.9 million
• Total: $12 million
  

Set in the ’30s, it follows three friends who witness a murder, become suspects themselves, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

David O. Russell directed Amsterdam. The film’s ensemble cast includes Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro.

6. Don’t Worry Darling

• Week Four
• Weekend: $2.3 million
• Total: $42.5 million
  

In the 1950s, Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can’t help but question exactly what she’s doing in Victory.

Olivia Wilde directed Don’t Worry Darling from a screenplay by Katie Silberman. The film stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine.

7. Barbarian

• Week Six
• Weekend: $1.3 million
• Total: $38.9 million

A young woman discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the night but soon discovers there’s a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest.

Zach Cregger wrote and directed Barbarian. It stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long.

8. Bros

• Week Three
• Weekend: $900,000
• Total: $10.8 million
  

Bobby is a neurotic podcast host who’s happy to go on Tinder dates and content not to have a serious relationship. That all changes when he meets Aaron, an equally detached lawyer who likes to play the field. Repeatedly drawn to each other, both men begin to show their vulnerable sides as their undeniable attraction turns into something resembling a commitment.

Nicholas Stoller directed Bros from a screenplay he co-wrote with Billy Eichner. The film stars Eichner, Luke Macfarlane, Bowen Yang, Harvey Fierstein, Ts Madison, Monica Raymund, Guillermo Díaz, Guy Branum, Amanda Bearse, and Jim Rash.

9. Terrifier 2

• Week Two
• Weekend: $803,000
• Total: $2.2 million
  

Resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County to terrorize a teenage girl and her younger brother on Halloween night.

Damien Leone directs Terrifier 2. It stars David Howard Thornton, Samantha Scaffidi, Lauren LaVera, Elliot Fullam, Sarah Voigt, Kailey Hyman, and Casey Harnett.

10. Top Gun: Maverick

• Week 21
• Weekend: $680,000
• Total: $715.8 million
  

After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Joseph Kosinski directs Top Gun: Maverick from a screenplay written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie. The film stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer.