Published on October 30, 2018
October box office report: Some movies make a killing; others are dead on arrivalHalloween (2018). | Photo: Universal

October was not a trick, but a treat for Hollywood. It was a great month at the box office, thanks to a diverse slate of movies ranging from a supervillain movie to a weepy romantic drama to the return of Halloween.

Here are the winners and losers at the box office this month:

Winner: Halloween

The reboot of the classic horror favorite scared up a lot of money at the box office — $77.5 million in the U.S. and Canada. That made it the second-highest October opening ever, behind Venom (see below), and the biggest debut in the entire Halloween franchise. Positive reviews seem to have helped the movie, which is a direct sequel to the 1978 John Carpenter original and brings back star Jamie Lee Curtis.

Winner: Venom

The Spider-Man spinoff flick set the record for the biggest October opening weekend in history, with $80 million. It’s not huge in terms of superhero movies these days, but a great result for Sony, which is trying to launch a new franchise based on villains and side characters in the Spider-Man universe. Even though the movie received lukewarm reviews, Tom Hardy earned praise for his portrayal of a journalist who becomes fused with a dastardly symbiote.

Loser: First Man

The Neil Armstrong biopic starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Damien Chazelle (La La Land) seemed poised to shoot to the moon. Instead, it barely got off the ground, making a disappointing $16.5 million on opening weekend. That was surprising since the movie received good reviews, particularly for the performances by Gosling as the intrepid astronaut and Claire Foy as Armstrong’s wife. The drama may prove to have long legs as it heads into awards season.

Winner: A Star Is Born

This star-packed movie shone, even though it opened the same weekend as Venom. The romantic drama pairing Bradley Cooper (who made his directorial debut) and pop queen Lady Gaga brought in $42.6 million in its opening weekend. The story of a grizzled country star who falls for and discovers an up-and-coming singer also produced a ton of tears and many memes.

Loser: Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

The family-friendly horror comedy sequel didn’t come close to matching its 2015 predecessor. On opening weekend, it earned $16 million, a 31 percent drop from the original. Of course, Jack Black barely shows up in the sequel, thus it had a much lower budget. So, it’s not a total disaster, but definitely not worthy of any good goosebumps.