Jamie Lee Curtis battled Michael Myers and misconceptions about the box office this weekend. “Halloween” proved to be an irresistible treat to audiences, taking in $77.5 million in North America in its opening. The 11th installment of the horror franchise grossed $14.3 million overseas “for a global start of $91.8 million” on a budget of $10 million, Variety reports.
Not only did the newest “Halloween” “[obliterate] the franchise record opening of $26 million,” the pic also “notched the second-best start for an R-rated horror film following ‘It’s’ $123 million launch. It now ranks as the second-highest debut for an October release, set earlier this month by ‘Venom’ with $80 million.”
“Halloween” sees Curtis reprising her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who first crossed paths with masked-killer Michael Myers when she was teenage babysitter. Curtis was 19 during the original “Halloween’s” filming. This newest take on the story marks “Curtis’ biggest opening to date, as well as the best horror opening with a female lead. It’s also the biggest debut ever for a movie with a female lead over 55 years old,” the source notes. Curtis turns 60 next month.
The “Scream Queens” actress celebrated “Halloween’s” box office success on Twitter:
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
Despite ample evidence to the contrary, some execs still seem skeptical about the fact that female-led films make money, and treat them as a risk. “Halloween” is yet another piece of evidence to disprove this theory, and an especially compelling one given Curtis’ age. It’s not just teens and 20-something women who have box office potential. Audiences will turn out to see stories about older women — but only if they have the opportunity to. Greenlighting “Halloween” showed faith that a female protagonist over 55 wouldn’t keep audiences away, and that faith is being rewarded with huge earnings.
“Obviously I’m way happy that women over 50 can get a job, and have a job that has depth,” Curtis has said of the film.“The thing that I took away from the movie was depth, emotion, and emotional complexity. When it comes to trauma, how does it manifest? How does it manifest in a family? How does it isolate you? How does it distance you from people? I thought all of that was great. So, to me, it’s not just a grandma looking cute.” She continued, “Laurie Strode was the best part I had ever played because it was a full character, when I was 19 years old and the only thing a director or a costume designer would say to me was, ‘What size jeans do you wear?’ I was a young, nubile girl, so it was just like, ‘Okay, put her in a cute pair of jeans,’ and here was a part that actually had a character. And now, here I am again, 40 fucking years later. It’s whack that I get a role that has this complexity and depth, when I don’t get that. I’m lucky to get a job anywhere, at my age, and here is a job that has real depth.”
