‘Halloween Kills’ Slashes to $4.9 Million Opening at Thursday Box Office

“Hallloween Kills” killed at the box office, slashing its way to $4.9 million in Thursday previews.

The Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions horror movie is the latest in the long-running “Halloween” franchise. “Halloween Kills” is projected to generate $35 million to $40 million in its first three days of release.

While great news for the franchise, the box office figure is quite a bit below the $77 million bow that its predecessor, 2018’s “Halloween,” grabbed in its inaugural weekend. Between the lingering effects of the pandemic, competition from “Venom 2” and “No Time to Die” and the diminished nostalgia factor that the 2018 film enjoyed with Jamie Lee Curtis’ return to the franchise, “Halloween Kills” was never expected to reach the big opening attained by its predecessor.

“Halloween Kills” opened in previews last night in 2,950 theaters, with showings beginning at 7 p.m.

The movie stars longtime scream queen Curtis as Laurie Strode, Judy Greer as her daughter Karen and Andi Matichak as her granddaughter Allyson. Together, they once again battle masked monster Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney), whom Laurie believed she had finally killed, only to find her lifelong tormentor back to kill again. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage to form a vigilante group determined to take down Myers once and for all.

Meanwhile, 20th Century’s “The Last Duel” stumbled with a $350,000 opening on Thursday night, despite notching an 86% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 92% audience score.

“Scott’s “The Last Duel” is a historical drama based on the book of the same name by Eric Jager, with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. The film stars Damon as Jean de Carrouges, a knight who challenges his squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) to a duel after Carrouges’s wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Le Gris of raping her. Affleck also appears in a supporting role as Count Pierre d’Alençon. The movie had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.