Horror movies have been killers at the box office lately, and Jamie Lee Curtis has brought the Halloween franchise back to its record-earning glory.
The latest installment of the Michael Myers slasher flicks, simply called Halloween, grossed $77.5 million in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Guru, making it the second-highest grossing horror opening of all time, behind only It. It was also the second biggest release this month, following Venom.
The newest Halloween slasher still hasn’t beaten out the original 1978 movie—though that’s likely to change, as the Halloween holiday keeps the movie in-season for another weekend.
Looking at the highest grossing Halloween movies, adjusted for inflation, new audiences seem to flock to the franchise every 20 years or so.
But in terms of opening weekends, this latest Michael Myers killing spree cuts through the competition. Data for the original Halloween isn’t readily available, but the newer Halloween movies have tended to open stronger than they have in the past.