‘Halloween Ends’ To Debut On Peacock The Same Day As Its Theatrical Premiere
Halloween Ends will mark the third and final film in the Michael Myers trilogy. The film is created by director David Gordon Green and co-screenwriter Danny McBride. It takes place four decades after the events of the original 1978 Halloween, ignoring the other sequels.
Halloween Ends is set to hit theatres on October 14. It is set four years after the events of Halloween and its 2021 sequel Halloween Kills, which both take place on Halloween night in 2018. The plot will follow the life of Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) as she works on her memoir. Her life is turned upside down when her granddaughter Allyson’s (Andi Matichak) new boyfriend, Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell), is accused of killing a child he was babysitting.
Kyle Richards, Michael O’Leary, Will Patton, Omar Dorsey, and James Jude Courtney round out the cast, with Nick Castle playing Michael Myers.
Halloween Ends to release on Peacock same day as in theaters
Today, the Halloween franchise’s official Twitter account posted an update from Curtis herself. In a two-minute video commemorating the end of Laurie Strode’s four-decade character arc, she thanked fans for their years of support. She also added that Halloween Ends would premiere on the NBCUniversal streaming platform Peacock on the same day it is released in theatres.
This is the same release method as Halloween Kills, which was released on October 15, 2021. As Curtis explains in the video, this decision was made to allow as many fans as possible to see the film, even if they are still hesitant to return to theatres.
However, the release model worked extremely well for Halloween Kills, so it probably didn’t seem like a big risk. In addition to earning the best non-live event premiere in Peacock’s history at the time, Halloween Kills grossed a total of $131.6 million at the box office. Although it is less than Halloween 2018‘s $255.6 million, Halloween Kills was a strong showing for a pandemic-era horror film.
The reason they’re doing it again with Halloween Ends is most likely to capitalize on the Halloween holiday as much as possible. Although horror films do well all year, an explicitly Halloween-themed film may struggle at the box office once November arrives and audiences begin to focus on the December holiday season.
NBCUniversal appears to be hoping that this move will help drive subscribers to Peacock, giving the impression that they are the home of high-profile releases like this. With a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release, they can cast their net as wide as possible in the two-and-a-half weeks before Halloween, capturing as many viewers as possible.
