8 Reasons Why Halloween Just Blew Up At The Box Office
6. The Release Date
It may have been nine years since the last Halloween movie was in theaters, but it has been an astounding twenty-nine years since a Halloween film was actually released in October.
Not since Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers all the way back in 1989 has a Halloween film been released anywhere near its actual namesake, with all of the sequels since then being released in the months of September, August, or even July. Obviously, a Halloween film benefits immensely from being released in the actual month of October.
In releasing so early, those prior films left literal money on the table, because the month of October and the Halloween holiday festivities themselves act as free marketing for the franchise. Michael Myers and the series have become synonymous with the holiday in a way that no other icon or franchise has. Every October, there are multiple channels running around-the-clock Halloween franchise marathons. So releasing in October is just good sense.
But there's more ingenuity to this release date, as releasing the film on October 19th all but ensures substantial repeat business. Audiences have well-and-truly turned out in droves to see it opening weekend and now its second weekend will be just days before the actual holiday of Halloween, which will continue to drive business up.
That's how you plan a Halloween film's release date.