Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode in the latest Halloween

Halloween, the reboot of the 1978 classic, has made a killing at the US box office, raking in over $77m (£59m) during its opening weekend.

It makes it the biggest debut ever for a horror film with a female lead, and the biggest debut ever for any film with a female lead over 55.

Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode in the movie.

Halloween now ranks as the second-highest debut for an October release, set earlier this month by Venom.

"I am enormously proud of this film," said Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, who co-financed the film with Miramax.

"Halloween brings the franchise back to life in a fresh, relevant and fun way that is winning over fans and critics alike."

Curtis also celebrated via Twitter, writing: "OK, I'm going for one BOAST post," adding the hash tag #WomenGetThingsDone.

Her Laurie is seen as a grandmother in the latest instalment of the series, who has been waiting for an opportunity to confront Michael Myers once more.

Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution, said the success of Halloween is down to the 40-year gap between the original and the latest instalment.

"There had been quite some time since the original film," Orr said.

"You combine that with the return of a tremendous star in Jamie Lee Curtis, great writing, great filmmaking. All of that comes together as a perfect storm."

However, the film has received mixed reviews from critics, with Forbes commenting: "It's not very good or tightly-directed, and it fails as a character play and a scary movie."

Ed Potton in The Times described it as "a painfully workmanlike horror that could have been made at any point in the past four decades".

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