'Halloween' is poised to have the biggest horror movie opening of the year, and has already broken a record

Blumhouse

• "Halloween" is projected to gross $65 million or more at the box office this weekend, continuing the horror genre's win streak.
• The movie has already surpassed "The Nun" as online ticket service Fandango's biggest horror preseller this year.
• The movie would also add to an already impressive October box office, in which "Venom" broke the record for the biggest opening weekend of the month.

The horror genre has never looked better at the box office than in the last two years, and the new "Halloween" movie is poised to continue that win streak.

The movie is projected to debut to $65 million or more this weekend, which would be one of the biggest openings for a horror movie of all time. In fact, according to Fandango, "Halloween" is the online ticket service's biggest horror preseller of the year. It has sold more advance tickets than "The Nun," the previous top horror movie of the year in pre-sale tickets. This comes just a month after "The Nun" shattered expectations despite poor reviews and opened with $53.5 million, and a year after "It" grossed a whopping $123 million in its first weekend.

That's not to mention the stunning success of last year's "Get Out" and this year's "A Quiet Place," both of which far exceeded their production budgets in box-office take. Even "Hereditary," which divided audiences this year, is the studio A24's highest-grossing movie yet.

Exhibitor Relations senior box-office analyst Jeff Bock told Business Insider in September, when "The Nun" was released, that he had "no doubt" that "Halloween" would make between $50 and $60 million in its opening weekend because the studio behind the movie, Blumhouse, "knows how to construct a film and market it."

It's not just the horror genre that is having a moment, though. The October box office is enjoying an impressive run, as well. "Venom" opened with $80 million earlier this month, the biggest October opening weekend ever. And despite such a big opening for "Venom," Oscar hopeful "A Star is Born" still made over $42 million when it opened at the same time.

Both movies are holding steady going into their third weekends, but "Halloween" is expected to slash its way to the top of the box office.