Netflix’s Franchise-Ending Thriller Officially Becomes a Global Streaming Hit

Horror and Netflix go hand in hand, especially during spooky season. This is best exemplified by the streamer’s acquisition of the biggest horror movie of the year, scheduled to be added to the catalog on November 17. As an Oscars campaign for Best Actress begins to take shape for Inde Navarrette, even more eyes than before will get to witness the sheer breakout genius of director Curry Barker‘s Obsession. The movie earned widespread praise from critics, becoming one of the highest-rated horror films of the year and an outside favorite for awards season.

But Obsession‘s biggest success came at the box office, where it surprised the world by turning a sub-$1 million budget into more than half a billion, breaking numerous records in the process. Obsession became the highest-grossing non-animated original film of the past decade, the highest-grossing original horror movie of this century, the fifth highest-grossing horror film of all time, and much more during its memorable theatrical run. Very soon, it will become the horror to watch on Netflix, but what is holding the fort in the meantime?

At the time of writing, the controversial Halloween Ends is one of the ten most-watched movies on Netflix in the U.S. The conclusion to David Gordon Green‘s modern sequel trilogy to John Carpenter‘s slasher classic, Halloween Ends marked Jamie Lee Curtis‘ final appearance as Laurie Strode, but sadly didn’t see the actress go out in glory. “Halloween Ends seems to be an attempt to give Halloween fans something new, something unique, and something a little different from what they had seen before, and unfortunately, it doesn’t work,” wrote Alyse Wax in Collider’s review at the time.

• He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategize, doesn’t
  adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
• Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most
  people gives you a genuine edge.
• The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started
  thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
• You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone
  who simply refused to be where he expected.

• Crystal Lake, the Peacock prequel series, dropped all eight episodes on October 15, 2026.
• It ended a 17-year gap, the longest the franchise has ever gone without a new entry.

• But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly
  wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
• Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia, the fact that nothing
  ever looks wrong until it already is.
• Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before
  you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
• You are not a target waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is
  wrong, and acts on it.

• John Carpenter is producing a new Halloween film with Blumhouse and Miramax.
• The 1978 mask was a store-bought Captain Kirk mask, widened at the eyes and painted white.

• You are harder to destabilize than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about
  yourself and you haven’t looked away.
• The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose
  to face it rather than flee from it.
• Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who
  refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
• Your psychological resilience, the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes
  unreliable, is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.

• Paramount set a new A Nightmare on Elm Street in motion in July 2026, with the Wes Craven
  estate involved.
• Craven built the original on newspaper reports of people so afraid of their own nightmares
  that they refused to fall asleep.

• The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They
  survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
• You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than
  turning away.
• That directness, the refusal to let fear fester in the dark, is Pennywise’s worst
  nightmare.
• It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear
  tastes like nothing at all.

• HBO renewed It: Welcome to Derry for a second season, with Bill Skarsgard back under the
  makeup.
• The showrunners have said season two reaches further back, to younger versions of the first
  season’s characters.

• You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present, and
  you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
• Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that
  delay faster than almost anyone.
• Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate skepticism, rather than
  dismissing it because it seems absurd, is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
• Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

• Don Mancini is writing the next Chucky film and plans to direct it himself, aimed back at
  the scarier end.
• Brad Dourif has voiced the doll since 1988 and has said he has no plans to stop.

How Much Did ‘Halloween Ends’ Make at the Box Office?

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Ryan Green / © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Universal Pictures

• Image via Ryan Green / © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

It might’ve earned some pretty harsh reviews, but Halloween Ends ​​​​​​at least proved popular at the box office. Against a reported budget of $20 million, the film scored a global haul of $105 million, split between $64 million in domestic revenue and a further $41 million from overseas markets. The film opened at the top spot in the domestic ranks, outperforming horror rival Smile during Halloween season. Alas, poor word of mouth ended in an 80% drop in ticket sales by weekend , and a drop out of the top ten within five weeks.

For all the latest streaming stories, stay tuned to Collider.

Halloween Ends