‘Halloween Ends’ Review: Michael Myers Gets a Disciple, and Jamie Lee Curtis Mopes, as the Series Ends…But Not Really (Rinse, Slash, Repeat)

“Halloween Ends” just opened in theaters, while also being made available on Universal’s streaming platform Peacock, and the response has been divisive to say the least. The third chapter of the new trilogy (once again directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis) made $41.3 million at the box office opening weekend, a good number for sure but lower than the studio and box office prognosticators were predicting. (Elsewhere, Universal is claiming it was a smash for Peacock.) Critically, the results were just as middling.

A West Lothian cinema welcomed brave film buffs to screenings of the latest Halloween movie with an appearance of serial killer Michael Myers himself.

Kourtney Kardashian and her husband, Travis Barker, are no different. The newlyweds celebrated the premiere of , with their own Michael Myers-themed party over the weekend.Kourtney shared several shots of the spooky decorations on her Instagram Stories, starting with the pumpkin-lined path that guarded 15-foot red skeletons, featuring blue glowing eyes that greeted guests as they entered the couple's smoke-filled haunted home.Upon entering the front door, Kourtney captured a more enchanting scene, showing off a slew of carefully placed trees which gave the room a forest-like feel.

The Halloween Ends numbers are coming in, and the studio might not be so pleased.

“Halloween Ends” is here. And whether you think it’s ultimately satisfying, it does provide a conclusive finale for the trilogy that started in 2018 with David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” and continued with the blood-soaked sequel, 2021’s “Halloween Kills.” Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, a part she first played in John Carpenter’s groundbreaking 1978 original, has her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the unstoppable serial killer who has haunted her for all of these years.Did good vanquish evil? Or was evil ultimately triumphant? And what if the ending you saw in theaters or on Peacock wasn’t the ending that was originally intended?TheWrap talked to co-writer/director David Gordon Green about the possible alternate endings of “Halloween Ends.”MAJOR spoiler warning for “Halloween Ends.” If you haven’t seen it yet, grab your butcher knife and head back now!During our chat about “Halloween Ends,” I brought up the premiere of “Halloween Kills,” which happened at Beyond Fest the year before.

Halloween Ends” is still going to turn a sizable profit with an estimated $43 million opening weekend, but its day-and-date release on Peacock and weak reviews from critics and audiences alike are already having an impact. Prior to release, the final installment in David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” reboot trilogy was projected to open to $50 million, matching the $49.4 million opening of last year’s “Halloween Kills,” which was also a day-and-date release.

J. Kim Murphy “Halloween Ends” may be the last we see of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers, but the horror series still kills at the box office. Universal’s slasher finale is off to a strong start, projecting a $43.4 million opening from 3,901 theaters. Even with “Halloween Ends” receiving a simultaneous streaming debut on Peacock, the film has managed to draw an impressive figure. It will earn more than enough to top weekend charts, sparking some life into what has largely been a muted season for moviegoing. “Ends” is tracking below last year’s franchise entry, “Halloween Kills,” which earned a $49 million domestic opening with its own day-and-date release. 2018’s “Halloween,” the first entry in this new sequel trilogy to John Carpenter’s landmark 1978 original, released exclusively to theaters, at a time before Peacock was anything more than a developing project at NBCUniversal. The film garnered a staggering $76 million — still the third-highest domestic debut ever for a horror film, after the two “It” entries.

franchise in 2018 with a direct sequel to the 1978 film, the ongoing saga between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers comes to a close two movies later, in, which is now in theaters and streaming on Peacock. Both Curtis, who has portrayed the former babysitter stalked by the masked killer for over 40 years, and director David Gordon Green break down the climax of the 2022 film that marks Laurie and Michael’s final (and bloody) battle. Curtis “takes the physicality of this role very seriously,” Green says.

The newest Halloween movie has finally premiered, and with it, officially ends Jamie Lee Curtis‘ run as Laurie Strode.

“Halloween Ends” is just beginning its rise at the box office.

Major spoiler warning for “Halloween Ends.” Do not read if you haven’t seen it (or are a complete sicko that is comfortable with having the movie totally ruined for you)!Much was made about the mantra spouted (repeatedly) in “Halloween Kills:” evil dies tonight. As Michael’s bloody murder spree whips the town of Haddonfield into a frenzy, the town becomes consumed with its own hatred – embarking on a misplaced quest to bring Michael down.

John Carpenter’s original score for his 1978 smash hit movie, the first Halloween, will always be a classic.

We said we wouldn’t do it. When we sat down and watched the entire “Halloween” franchise (12 films!) in a week to rank them before “Halloween Ends,” we said we didn’t need to discuss the finale because it was probably going to be just fine and exactly what we expected would happen.

“Halloween Ends” is upon us. The final film in the new “Halloween” trilogy is here, just a few short years after Jamie Lee Curtis returned to her iconic role of Laurie Strode for a new twist on the Michael Myers franchise – one in which the masked killer is not Laurie’s brother, but instead a strange madman who’s haunted her all these years.David Gordon Green returns to direct the third film in the trilogy after kicking things off with 2018’s “Halloween” and continuing the series with 2021’s “Halloween Kills.” But where can you witness this concluding chapter? Do you have to go to a theater, or is it streaming? And is this really the last “Halloween” movie?All your questions answered below.The film opens October 14.Both! The film will be playing in theaters but also streaming on Peacock the same day it opens.

William Earl This October, Variety has enlisted some our favorite spooky content creators to share their scary movie essentials. Matt Gourley and Paul Rust, whose podcast “With Gourley and Rust” analyzes horror franchises film by film since 2018, shared their picks for Coziest Horror Movies of All Time.

Halloween is a mere two weeks away, but Laurie Strode's decades-long showdown with Michael Myers comes to an end today. The third and final chapter of the modern trilogy, following 2018's  and 2021's , is now playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock. is the thirteenth installment in the franchise in which Jamie Lee Curtis faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil. Watch NowNearly 45 years after John Carpenter's 1978 original — which you can watch on Amazon here — stars Jamie Lee Curtis as horror’s first “final girl” Laurie Strode. Curtis' portrayal of Laurie for more than four decades is one of the longest actor-character pairings in cinema history.

Independent projections predicted a $50 million opening weekend for the Universal and Blumhouse picture, on par with that of “Halloween Kills.” The 2021 sequel scored $4.9 million at its Thursday box office debut. In 2018, “Halloween” made $7.7 million on its first night and went on to earn an eye-popping $77.5 million from its opening weekend – the second highest of any rated-R horror movie at the time.Set four years after the events of “Halloween Kills,” “Halloween Ends” presents the last showdown between Laurie Strode (Curtis) and longtime nemesis Michael Myers.

Jordan Moreau “Halloween Ends” is just beginning — the final installment in the long-lived horror franchise picked up $5.4 million at the box office in Thursday night previews. The film should hack and slash its way to $50 million to $55 million in its opening weekend, according to projections, even with a same-day release on Peacock. Last year’s “Halloween Kills” opened to $49 million at the box office and had the same Peacock release strategy, so an even bigger launch would be bloody good for the Universal film. Jamie Lee Curtis’ PTSD-riddled survivor Laurie Strode faces off against psycho killer Michael Myers once again for the 13th entry in the franchise, and “Halloween Ends” promises to be the very last showdown between the two foes — at least, until another reboot comes knocking at the door. The “Halloween” timeline is as full of holes as one of Michael’s victims, but the latest movie caps off a trilogy of modern-day sequels that began with 2018’s “Halloween” and its 2021 sequel “Halloween Kills.” The three movies follow the events of John Carpenter’s original 1978 horror, which introduced audiences to Curtis in her film debut and the soon-to-be slasher icon Michael Myers. There have been a handful of other “Halloween” sequels and two rebooted films directed by Rob Zombie, but the new trilogy retcons those and catches up with Laurie and her family 40 years later.

Halloween Ends is now in theaters and Universal Studios has been promising fans that this is the “final chapter” of the franchise. So, is Michael Myers actually dead?

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic If, like me, you consider “All the President’s Men” to be one of the most exciting movies ever made, it’s remarkable to consider that it came out in 1976, just four years after the Watergate break-in. The saga of Richard Nixon’s corruption and downfall had saturated the culture, yet every moment in “All the President’s Men” tingled with discovery. That’s why it’s a film you can watch again and again. When a big-screen journalistic drama gets built around a news story that epic, it needs to give you a version of that feeling. “Spotlight,” the Oscar-winning 2015 drama about The Boston Globe’s unraveling of the child sex abuse scandals within the Catholic Church, wasn’t as great as “All the President’s Men,” yet it, too, was laced with a sense of discovery. It’s there in how the film anatomized not just the horrific behavior of abusive priests but the omertà of the Church.

Jamie Lee Curtis‘ new horror film Halloween Ends is now playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock, so it’s time to talk about that shocking ending.

Rohan Campbell is the breakout star of the new movie Halloween Ends and he’s definitely going to be gaining a bigger fanbase thanks to his role as Corey Cunningham!

Halloween Ends is finally here.

Peacock Friday, you’ll consider taking Wite-Out to the title and changing it to “Halloween Keeps Going, Please.” Director David Gordon Green was deservedly lauded in 2018 for his superb first ‘ween film, which restored the Michael Myers vs. Laurie Strode death match to its 1970s gritty glory after a string of bombs in the 1990s and aughts.

If there’s a lesson to be learned from David Gordon Green’s trilogy of “Halloween” legacy-quels, it’s to quit while you’re ahead. His 2018 “Halloween” (a direct sequel to the original 1978 masterpiece and a ret-con of its many, many follow-ups) was a surprisingly effective combination of slasher reanimation and reconsideration, taking the horrors of that Halloween night, and its psychological effects on its survivors and the town where they happened, with uncommon seriousness (yet with flashes of self-awareness and humor).

“Halloween Ends” is here.The sequel — in theaters and on Peacock on Oct. 14 — concludes the trilogy that started with 2018’s “Halloween,” which wisely jettisoned most of the cumbersome backstory and mythology that had gummed up the subsequent sequels and spin-offs.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Get ready for more trauma to unfold. The newest film in the “Halloween” franchise hits theaters and streamers on Friday, Oct. 14 — meaning it’s officially spooky season. “Halloween Ends” is David Gordon Green’s third and final installment in the franchise’s trilogy series, and will hit Peacock on the same day as theaters for a rare day-and-date release, which Universal also rolled out for its predecessor film “Halloween Kills.” In “Halloween Ends,” Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode as she faces Michael Myers for a final showdown. James Jude Courtney, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Omar Dorsey and Kyle Richards also return to their original roles.

another new timeline of events. That particular one comes to a conclusion with “Halloween Ends” – in theaters and on Peacock on Oct.

Spooky season is here. When Halloween comes around, some think of trick-or-treating, spooky season decorations and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but others go a tad darker, associating the holiday with bloody horror movies and jump-scares.

$49.4 million last year and finished with a $92 million domestic total, and pre-release projections for “Ends” have it matching that opening mark with a $50 million opening. By contrast, the first installment in this “Halloween” revival in 2018 opened to $76 million on the way to a $159 million domestic total and $255 million worldwide, buoyed before its release by strong reviews from critics praising Jamie Lee Curtis’ return to her debut role, Laurie Strode, that expanded interest beyond the series’ most devoted fans. “Kills,” on the other hand, got much poorer reviews, with critics slamming the sequel for sidelining Laurie in the hospital instead of having her take the murderous Michael Myers head-on like she did in the first film.

Jamie Lee Curtis originated the role of Laurie Strode in the 1978 film, the franchise is coming to a close with. The film, which is the final installment in director David Gordon Green’s trilogy, also marks Lee’s last turn as the former babysitter stalked by the masked killer Michael Myers.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Laurie Strode is going out with a bang. “Halloween Ends,” the supposed finale to Universal’s long-running slasher series (are we ever going to be able to quit Michael Myers?) is targeting a healthy $50 million to $55 million in its opening weekend even with its hybrid release on Peacock. If those estimates hold, it’ll be the first movie since “Thor: Love and Thunder” in July to open to at least $50 million. “Halloween Ends” is the rare day-and-date release with a proper point of comparison since its predecessor also launched on streaming during the pandemic. “Halloween Kills” opened to $49 million last October while landing simultaneously on the NBCUniversal-owned Peacock — a bloody-good result given the COVID-era limitations in 2021. “Halloween Ends,” which is playing in 3,800 North American theaters, has the added benefit of monopolizing the entire Imax and premium large format footprint.

Jamie Lee Curtis stuns in a glittery red dress for the premiere of Halloween Ends in Hollywood on Tuesday night (October 11).

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In “Nuclear,” his intensely compelling, must-see documentary, Oliver Stone makes the vital and historical case that nuclear power has been the victim of a perception/reality conundrum, one that is now in the process of being overturned. The perception is that nuclear power is dangerous: too dangerous to be an essential component of providing our energy needs. The reality, argues Stone, is that nuclear power is clean, abundant, and safe. “Nuclear” says that the ominous reality of our energy crisis — the looming catastrophe of climate change, the hopeful yet stubbornly incremental growth of renewables like wind and solar — is too urgent for nuclear power not to be an essential component of providing our energy needs.