Actress Jamie Lee Curtis took to Twitter to boast about the monster success on opening weekend for the latest installment in the Halloween franchise.
OK. I’m going for one BOAST post. Biggest horror movie opening with a female lead.
Biggest movie opening with a female lead over 55.
Second biggest October movie opening ever.
Biggest Halloween opening ever #womengetthingsdone @halloweenmovie pic.twitter.com/DhUBy82z3U— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) October 21, 2018
The Halloween film raked in over $91 million worldwide on opening weekend and $77.5 million in domestic gross. This is a ton of money considering the film only had a projected production budget of $10 million. If not for Venom releasing earlier this month, Halloween would have been the #1 grossing domestic film of all time in October.
It doesn’t surprise me how well the film did on opening weekend especially given it’s a Blumhouse Production. Blumhouse has been absolutely crushing it when it comes to the horror genre. Get Out made $255 million. Split made $278 million, Insidious: The Last Key brought in $167 million, and the list could go on.
Not only was Halloween a Blumhouse Productions piece, but it also had some great marketing behind it. All of the trailers were top notch and promised a classic Halloween slasher film. I do think Jamie Lee Curtis struggled to navigate the marketing waters a little bit, I think the fact that the trailers and much of the marketing material was out there before she began making the press rounds helped to suppress some of her mishaps where she refers to the film as a #MeToo film.
In fact, I think that the trailers showcased an armed woman defending herself against a crazed psycho killer showcased the opposite of what the #MeToo movement has become. It showed a strong woman standing up and defending her family against a criminal. A criminal that was somehow let loose by the people who are supposed to protect us. While Curtis’ Laurie Strode set out to defend herself against Michael Myers, the #MeToo movement devolved into wild accusations without any substantial proof during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
But maybe the biggest factor in Halloween’s success is the fact that it might just be a pretty good movie from the acting to the plot. The audience consensus has it at 77%. That’s pretty high. It’s a testament that audiences are craving good, entertaining content without a divisive political agenda be shoved into it. They get enough of that on that news and on social media.
Have you seen Halloween yet? What did you think? What do you make of Jamie Lee Curtis’ boast?