Michael Myers makes his return to movie theaters this weekend, and with the fictional serial killer comes one of the most enduring genres of all time.
“Halloween,” the eleventh film in the horror franchise, opened with $7.7 million Thursday night and is expected to bring in roughly $60 million domestically this weekend for Universal. That would make it one of the biggest openings in October’s history and the highest grossing debut for the franchise. Last year’s big screen version of Stephen King’s “It” opened at $123 million, for comparison.
So why does Hollywood keep coming back to “Halloween?” It’s because horror is a unique genre with broad appeal, films that are affordable to make and that are best enjoyed at brick and mortar theaters where other viewers are screaming with you in the dark. Studios benefit from the high return on investment, and theaters get more foot traffic at the box office and at concession stands where they make the highest profit margins. In an age of on-demand streaming from the comfort of a living room, horror films brings people back to the theater.