Blumhouse and Universal's Halloween did terrifying at the Friday box office, earning $33.3 million from 3,928 theaters for a weekend gross of $80.3 million, tying with Venom's launch earlier this month for an October best.

To boot, the pic — a direct sequel to the 1978 classic slasher hit — is scoring the second-best opening of all time for an R-rated horror pic behind New Line's blockbuster It, which opened to $123.4 million in September 2017, not adjusted for inflation. In addition to stellar reviews, Halloween nabbed a B+ CinemaScore, a good grade for the genre.

Directed by David Gordon Green, Halloween sees the return of Jamie Lee Curtis as the iconic character Laurie Strode, who once again faces off with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night in 1978. (Nick Castle reprises his role as Myers.) After Blumhouse landed rights to the Halloween franchise, Jason Blum tapped horror icon John Carpenter, who directed the 1978 film, to serve as creative consultant.