Halloween Is the Biggest Horror Movie Opening with a Female Lead

David Gordon Green’s Halloween made box-office history in its debut weekend, becoming the the high-grossing Halloween film of all time by grossing a whopping $76.225 million between Friday and Sunday in the U.S., per Forbes. Combined with $14.3 million in overseas profit, the film’s $91 million debut easily topped the franchise’s previous record, the $80 million global total to which Rob Zombie’s Halloween opened.

Halloween has also been confirmed to be the biggest horror movie opening with a female lead, the second-biggest October movie opening (the first belonging to Venom), the biggest slasher movie opening weekend ever and the biggest movie opening featuring a female lead over the age of 55. If you count all movies featuring a lead over the age of 55, it’s only behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which made $100 million in 2008, when Harrison Ford was 65. Considering how much ageism tends to affect actors, especially women, in the film industry, it’s great to see Halloween smashing records and raising the bar.

Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays the iconic Halloween protagonist Laurie Strode, agrees. On Sunday, she excitedly shared the news with her followers on Twitter: “OK. I’m going for one BOAST post,” she tweeted. “Biggest horror movie opening with a female lead. Biggest movie opening with a female lead over 55. Second biggest October movie opening ever. Biggest Halloween opening ever #womengetthingsdone.”

OK. I’m going for one BOAST post. Biggest horror movie opening with a female lead.
Biggest movie opening with a female lead over 55.
Second biggest October movie opening ever.
Biggest Halloween opening ever #womengetthingsdone@halloweenmoviepic.twitter.com/DhUBy82z3U

— Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) October 21, 2018

Read Paste’s review of the new Halloween here and find out where it landed on our ranking of the franchise here.