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‘Overlord’ Finishes Third at Box Office; ‘Venom’ and ‘Halloween’ Continue to Add to Totals

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Bad Robot’s long-delayed and rumored about World War Two zombie tale Overlord finished third at the weekend box office while the break-out hits of October, Venom and Halloween (2018), continued to pad their already impressive totals.

Overlord, once rumored to be the fourth installment in the Cloverfield franchise, finished third with a modest $10.1 million dollar debut.  The hard-R tale of mad zombie science run amok may have been too much for the average movie-goer (who gave the film a mediocre B Cinemascore rating), but Overlord did score high with critics (the film currently has an aggregate rating of 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).  The film will certainly earn back all of its production costs ($38 million) once international sales are included, but don’t expect Overlord to perform much better over the coming weeks with continued competition from tent-pole pictures from all of the major studios. read more

‘Halloween’ Crosses the $150 Million Mark at Weekend Box Office

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Although Halloween (2018) fell from the number one spot at the box office, the film did manage to cross the $150 million dollar mark with another strong weekend.

Halloween finished fifth overall with just over $11 million at this weekend’s box office due to some strong competition from three new films, including the ghost of Freddie Mercury in the Queen bio-pic Bohemian Rhapsody (an estimated $50 million dollar), Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms ($20 million),the R-rated comedy Nobody’s Fool ($14 million), and A Star is Born (which as of now, narrowly defeated Halloween with $11.1 million). Halloween also pulled in some very strong mid-week numbers, performing especially well (naturally) on Halloween with $5.5 million in receipts. read more

‘Halloween’ Slashes Through the Competition Again at the Box Office

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For the second week in a row, Halloween (2018) dominated the box office, earning a estimated $32 million dollars in its second week of release.  The latest in a long line of Michael Myers’ films currently sits at over $126 million in sales, and with a few more weeks of slim competition on the horizon, Halloween has a chance to cross the $200 million mark domestically.

Halloween only dropped 58% from last week’s debut, which was less than anticipated, as most horror films see a steeper decline in the 60-65% range.  The success of Halloween has sent many rival studios scrambling to fast track their own slasher properties, with rumors (unsubstantiated at best) running rampant about the return of Jason Voorhees.  Don’t be surprised if “news” of the return of Freddy or Leatherface is far behind, as Hollywood chases the latest trend at the box office. read more

‘Halloween’ Chops the Box Office to Pieces With a $77.5 Million Dollar Debut

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Expectations were high for the long-awaited reboot of John Carpenter’s Halloween, and it is safe to say that the film didn’t disappoint at the box office with a $77.5 million three-day debut.  The total was the second largest October opening weekend of all-time, coming less than $3 million shy of the record set by Sony’s Venom (early reports had the film beating Venom, but that slippery symbiote held on to his title, at least for now).

With a $10 million dollar production budget, Halloween (2018) was a major success for Universal and Blumhouse, and the film is sure to add to its total over the next few weeks with little horror competition on the horizon. Halloween (2018) fared well with critics (currently 80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a good, but not great B+ Cinemascore with fans.  The horror community has been less than impressed with the film, which could add up to a larger drop-off than expected next week (look no further than HNN’s John Evans, whose 2000 word plus review gives you every reason to wait to see Halloween at home at best, and perhaps skip it at worst). read more

‘Venom’ Wins Box Office for the Second Weekend

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Fortune has a report that Venom has stood tall at the box office for the second week in a row. While reviews of the film have been mixed, fans still are coming out in droves to support the beloved character. Venom earned an estimated $35.7 million this weekend and topped First Man, Bad Times at the El Royale, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and A Star is Born.

Based in the Sony Universe, Venom is unlike most of its fellow Marvel titles adding more of a gritty feel with more chaos and carnage. While that could be a recipe for disaster as most comic book fans love anything with a cape, Sony announced that the movie raked in $378.1 million globally. read more

‘Venom’ Sets a New October Record at the Weekend Box Office

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Despite primarily negative reviews and the lack of other spider-characters to rely on, Sony’s Venom set box office records this weekend, earning over $80 million in receipts.  Venom now holds the record for the highest grossing 3-day opening in October, defeating the previous record holder (Gravity) by almost $25 million dollars.

This total is even more impressive considering that Venom’s current aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes is only 32%.  The film has performed better with fans however, who gave the nasty symbiote a B+ on Cinema Score and a 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.  Venom should see a steep decline next weekend, but with few superhero-related properties on the horizon, the film will certainly improve on its already healthy take at the box office. read more

Horror News Network’s Fall 2018 Horror Movie Preview

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After a mild summer, the fall heats up with a cornucopia of films for horror fans.  The fall schedule brings us highly anticipated remakes and sequels such as Halloween, Suspiria, and The Predator, potential franchise starters such as The Nun, Venom, and Overlord, as well as some scary movies that the whole family can enjoy including The House With the Clock In It’s Walls and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.   So it is time to get ready for some cinematic treats (and inevitable tricks) this Halloween season with your favorite annual guide! read more

‘Venom’ Director Ruben Fleischer Promises that the Violence in the Film will be “Pushed to the Hilt”

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In a recent interview with the LA Times, the director of Sony’s Venom insists that he didn’t skimp out on any Venom-style mayhem in the film, promising that the violence in the film will be “pushed to the hilt”.

Fleischer went on to explain that his film was made to stand-out from the typical super-hero fare of the day, saying that he felt “…like the casting, the aesthetic and the character himself all combine to make something that just feels different.  Tonally it doesn’t remind you of other movies. It doesn’t feel like we just tried to do what everyone else is doing…. The DC universe is so aggressively dark and the Marvel universe has become so light. It was kind of exciting to craft something that just felt a little bit more real and grounded and in our world.” read more

Todd McFarlane Tweaks Character Design of Upcoming ‘Venom’ Movie in New Video

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Todd McFarlane- the legendary comic book artist behind the original character design of Venom- seems pretty hyped about how his creation will look in the upcoming Sony Pictures film starring Tom Hardy. In a new Facebook Live video, McFarlane praises the design of the character, such as his ape-like shoulders and imposing size. He also tweaks a screenshot taken from the new trailer for the film and makes a few adjustments to show his fans how the design could look more like his original work. McFarlane’s version features slightly different eyes and more gnarled teeth, with the back fangs being slightly more hidden by his cheeks. You can watch the entire process for yourself below: read more

New ‘Venom’ Trailer Shows off the Symbiote in Action

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Sony’s earlier trailers for Venom largely focused on the fantastic Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, with only a few fleeting moments of his symbiotic suit flashing across the screen. That all changes with today’s new clip!

Venom’s official second trailer shows the symbiote talking, the symbiote making a giant shield, and the symbiote turning its arms into big swinging axe-like pendulums as they often do in the comics and video games. Riz Ahmed’s character, Dr. Carlton Drake, has some moments to share his twisted vision which ultimately leads to the fusion between Brock and the alien life form. read more