Exactly 2 years ago this weekend, director Rob Zombie’s Halloween, a reimagining of the popular horror series, opened to $26.4M and went on to make $58.3M. Normally it would be a no brainer that Halloween 2 would perform much the same, but the first movie didn’t have direct competition for its audience in the form of The Final Destination 3-D. Is there room for 2 horror movies to succeed in the same weekend? It’s a good question. Unless horror fans are going to 2 movies this weekend (doubtful), these movies are going to eat into each other’s grosses. I think Halloween 2 will open to about $18M.

The Final Destination is the fourth entry in the popular horror series, only this time the mayhem flies off the screen at you in 3-D. The films have enjoyed stronger openings with each sequel and with the latest one in 3-D (at higher ticket prices); it should be able to have the biggest debut weekend yet for the series. Here’s a look at how the other Final Destinations have performed at the box office.

 

The Final Destination will of course have to contend with Halloween 2, but I still think it will open bigger than the third Destination. Being in 3-D, The Final Destination seems like the more fun choice than Halloween and I’m betting that it will edge out Rob Zombie’s sequel by a small margin. Look for The Final Destination 3-D to make about $22M this weekend. 

Based on the true story of the man who inadvertently started the generation defining concert, Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock opens in about 1300 theatres this weekend. The film looks great and the reviews have been solid so far, but don’t expect Woodstock to be a big hit. The film doesn’t have a rush to the theatre kind of urgency to it and plenty of viewers will be happy to wait for the DVD. Taking Woodstock should take in about $4M this weekend.

Among holdovers, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds should continue to perform well this weekend. Here’s a look at how his last films held up in their second frames.

Grindhouse (Death Proof)  -63%
Kill Bill Volume 2  -58%
Kill Bill Volume 1  -44%

You have to take Grindhouse out of the equation because it was a double feature and it was also terrible. Kill Bill Volume 2 was a sequel and therefore the box office was more front loaded. I think Basterds will perform more like the first Kill Bill, only slightly better. Basterds is a more accessible film than the blood soaked, samurai revenge tale. Look for Inglorious Basterds to drop about 40% to scalp another $22.5M out of the box office, enough to stay at #1. To see the rest of my predictions, check out the chart below. 

Come back Monday for the results and follow me on Twitter for box office updates throughout the week.