Universal's newest addition in the Halloween franchise "Halloween" destroyed the box office competition, bringing in $77.5 million in its weekend release. IGN reported that analysts expected it to bring in $50 to $60 million but ended up making history in a number of ways. The film's success showed up that moviegoers will show up in masses to R-rated Movies again.

"Halloween" made the biggest debut for a film that featured a female lead character over the age of 55. Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her iconic role. She previously returned to the franchise in 2002 with "Halloween: Resurrection," which bombed causing the series to go dormant for five years.

Universal ended up appointing Rob Zombie to direct the film. When the film was first announced, fans speculated whether Michael Meyers would get an updated look.

'Halloween' massive success on a considerably small budget

The film ended up making more than seven times the film's $10 million budget, best opening for producer Jason Blum. Blum has been known for his cheap, R-rated films. This $10 million budget may be low for films, it's one of the highest for Blum, whose last film's debut was 2011's "Paranormal Activity 3," which brought in $52.6 million. Blum has had success turning low budget films into massive multi-film franchises including "Paranormal Activity," "Insidious," and "The Purge," among others.

"Halloween" big success makes it the second best opening for a horror film, just behind the 2017 remake of "IT." It also had the second best movie opening in October, right behind Sony's "Venom." Deadline also noted that the film did not lean towards a female audience, despite Jamie Lee Curtis returning as Laurie Strode. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie was viewed by a 47% female and 53% male audience.

"Halloween" also played well to 65% of the audience over the age of 25.

'Halloween' box-office success highest of the four films

"Halloween's" debut makes it higher than the combined gross total of the four sequels from the 1980s and 1990s, which did not star Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis' return in "Halloween H20" spiked the gross profits domestically with a $55 million tally.

While Curtis may have been good luck for the film this time, she didn't bring luck with "Halloween Resurrection," which brought in only $30.4 million domestically. This time "Halloween" managed to have plenty of success with moviegoers and critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an 80%, which is the same as last year's "IT." Now moviegoers must wait for the obvious sequel to come.
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