No doubt buoyed by wide reports of its wild success, not to mention plenty of didn’t-we-do-well industry press, Halloween maintained its grasp on the number one spot at the box office for the second weekend in a row, bringing its domestic total to an estimated $126.7 million.

That is an insane number considering how relatively low-budget the new Halloween is, and it's only week two. We talked last week about how this is likely to spur a number of dormant horror franchises back to life (it already has in the case of Friday the 13th) but with numbers like these, it'll be remarkable if a single horror stoned is left unturned. Maybe it's time for that Final Destination reboot I've been dreaming about.

Although on a vastly smaller scale than Halloween, Luca Guadagnino's remake of Dario Argento's 1977 cult classic Suspiria also made noteworthy coin on its debut over the weekend, garnering the year's best per-cinema average in a very limited release (two theaters) that will go much wider (500+ theaters) this coming weekend.

It stands to reason that the weekend before Halloween would have had audiences hungry for horror on the big screen but this result is highly encouraging for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it shows there's more than one way to reboot/remake a horror classic — Halloween is built on the notion of viewer familiarity with the original, giving audiences something close to what they might expect. Guadagnino's Suspiria, on the other hand, takes a much more … European approach to the new Suspiria, delivering a long (2.5 hours) and often inscrutable take on Argento's film that doesn't rely upon a full awareness of the original work, a film more people have heard of than seen.

Secondly, any instance in which cinema audiences demonstrate a willingness to be challenged is good for storytelling in general. The new Suspiria hasn't exactly been embraced by critics, and the online chatter it is generating is all over the place following a bunch of word-of-mouth screenings last week. But the fact is people are talking about it, and that is translating to butts in seats.

Thirdly, streamers can use any and all encouragement to put their movies into actual theaters. The chatter around Suspiria is already proving to be a boon for backer Amazon Studios, and hopefully their belief in the film will be further justified when it goes wide. Anything that shows Netflix they don't need to be so skittish about theatrical exhibition is a good thing.

A Star Is Born and Venom maintained their respective number two and three positions on the box office chart, although the latter film is beginning to drop off more precipitously than the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga collaboration, which continues to demonstrate signs of repeat business. Maybe the key to sustained box office success in the contemporary marketplace is being meme-worthy.

Perhaps Lionsgate hoped that audiences might presume Gerard Butler's new movie, Hunter Killer was a horror film based on its title. The submarine thriller only managed $6.6 million in its debut, a disappointing number from any perspective. Don't worry Gerry, we will all still go see Angel Has Fallen when it comes out next year. 

Even further down the list, Jonah Hill's Mid90s only just managed to creep into the top ten on its first weekend in wide release, seemingly unable to fully monetize the predominantly positive chatter around the film.

Will audiences care about Halloween after Halloween? Can Suspiria find a wide audience despite being like, all weird and shit? Check back in seven days for the next Weekend Movie Takeaway.