AceShowbiz - "Halloween Ends" proves that the fanfare for the long-running franchise isn't dead just yet. The thirteenth installment in the slasher franchise has slayed the competition on its debut at the North American box office, opening atop the chart with an estimated $41.25 million.

The opening gross is softer than expected, with industry projections ranging from $50 million to $55 million. Still, it's a strong start for the horror movie, which is said to mark the final showdown between Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode and masked killer Michael Myers.

"Halloween Ends" failed to match the opening gross set by its predecessor "Halloween Kills", which made $50.3 million on its debut weekend last year. However, it is the first movie to open above $40 million since Jordan Peele's horror sci-fi "Nope" opened to $44 million back in July.

"It's great to see Blumhouse once again dominate this space," says Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution, of "Halloween Ends" performance. "Jamie Lee Curtis is a force of nature and audiences absolutely love her."

It should be noted that "Halloween Ends" debuted simultaneously on Peacock, NBC Universal's streaming service. "Horror films have been performing extremely well at the box office," David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, weighs in on this week's results.

"Young audiences like seeing these movies at a theater," he adds, before noting, "When that kind of success is possible, the greatest value is created by an exclusive theatrical release first, followed by streaming."

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, agrees as saying, "This is a mandate in favor of the movie theater. Audiences had the option to watch it at home but they chose to go to the theater."

"Halloween Ends" faced a stiff competition from former champion "Smile", which remains solid on its third weekend. The psychological film is only down 33.1% from last week, finishing second with an estimated $12.4 million.

Dergarabedian says it's rare two have two R-rated horror movies at the top of the box office. "The appeal of being scared in a movie theater is time honored," he explains. "Throughout the pandemic, horror movies have grossed over $1 billion, and that's just domestically."

At the third place this week is "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile", with an estimated $7.4 million. "The Woman King" holds on to the fourth place with approximately $3.7 million, followed by "Amsterdam" which drops two places to No. 5 with an estimated $2.9 million.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Oct. 14-16, 2022):

1. "Halloween Ends" - $41.25 million
2. "Smile" - $12.4 million
3. "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile" - $7.4 million
4. "Amsterdam" - $6.5 million
5. "The Woman King" - $3.7 million
6. "Don't Worry Darling" - $2.2 million
7. "Barbarian" - $1.4 million
8. "Bros" - $920,265
9. "Terrifier 2" - $850,000
10. "Top Gun: Maverick" - $685,433