"Halloween" made a killing in North America, earning 77.5 million US dollars when the slasher film launched in 3,928 locations.

David Gordon Green's "Halloween," a direct sequel to John Carpenter's 1978 classic, obliterated the franchise record opening of 26 million dollars, previously held by the 2007 Rob Zombie reboot. "Halloween" also notched the second-best start for an R-rated horror film following "It" 's 123-million-dollar launch. It also landed the second-highest debut for an October release, set earlier this month by “Venom” with 80 million dollars.

Overseas, "Halloween" generated 14.3 million dollars from 23 markets for a global start of 91.8 million dollars. "Halloween" cost just 10 million dollars, marking another win for Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions, who co-financed the film with Miramax. "Halloween" surpassed "Paranormal Activity 3" (52.5 million dollars) for the best debut to date for Blumhouse.

"I am enormously proud of this film," Jason Blum said in a statement. " 'Halloween' brings the franchise back to life in a fresh, relevant and fun way that is winning over fans and critics alike." Universal's "Halloween" is the 11th installment in the series, five of which have starred Jamie Lee Curtis as iconic avenging babysitter Laurie Strode, who is now a grandmother in the newest take. "Halloween" is now Curtis' biggest opening to date, as well as the best horror opening with a female lead. It's also the biggest launch ever with a female lead over 55 years old.

Carpenter returned to executive produce and compose the score for the R-rated thriller. The follow-up has garnered some of the best reviews for a series entry yet. While the last few iterations have been panned, "Halloween" holds an 80-percent average on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ CinemaScore.

"Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween" also cashed in on the spooky spirit, picking up 9.7 million dollars to land in fourth place. That brings its North American tally to 28 million dollars. Rounding out the top five is Universal's "First Man," which notched 8.5 million dollars this weekend for a total of 30 million dollars. Damien Chazelle's space epic, which holds a 60-million-dollar price tag, dropped roughly 46 percent in its second frame.

Elsewhere, Fox Searchlight's "Can You Ever Forgive Me?," starring Melissa McCarthy, generated 150,000 dollars when it opened in five locations, averaging a huge 30,000 dollars per screen.

(Top Photo: Cast member Jamie Lee Curtis poses at a premiere for the movie "Halloween" in Los Angeles, California, US, October 17, 2018. /VCG Photo)