‘Halloween Ends’

Los Angeles: Universal scarefest “Halloween Ends” scored a strong start this weekend, topping the North American box office with an estimated take of $41.3 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday.

The movie, ostensibly the last in a long string of profitable “Halloween” films, again stars Jamie Lee Curtis in a tale replete with throat-slashing, choking, fatal falls and a mysterious masked sewer-dweller.

Analysts had predicted a somewhat higher number: $50 million or so. But given the film´s simultaneous release on the Peacock streaming service and its production cost of just $30 million, its take was “excellent,” said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.