'Halloween Ends' heads to same-day streaming in setback to theaters
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment

Universal Pictures (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has decided to release its latest slasher-film entry Halloween Ends
simultaneously online as well as in theaters, dealing another setback to content-starved theaters this fall.
The company will put the film on its Peacock streaming service on Oct. 14, the same day the movie lands in cinemas.
That's bucking a bit of a post-pandemic trend that saw film studios normalizing output to theaters (albeit with a generally shorter window), following some day-and-date streaming release experiments. Those projects notably included Warner Bros. releasing its entire 2021 film slate simultaneously to streaming.

And while some smaller-profile releases still see quicker digital releases in 2022, Halloween Ends was one of the signpost films for the rest of 2022 - the "conclusion" to a horror franchise that has spanned decades. Predecessor Halloween Kills, released in October 2021, ended up opening with $49.4M (a total that would win the weekend recently) and grossing $131.6M worldwide.
But movie-theater chains had already braced for a multi-month slowdown in releases following the early-August opening of Bullet Train, with October seen as the earliest sign of likely relief.
Now the theatrical release of Halloween Ends will also have to contend with popcorn-eating horror fans at home.
Exhibitors are generally trading lower on Tuesday afternoon: AMC Entertainment (AMC) -5.7%; Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWF) -8.9%; Cinemark (CNK) -0.1%; (IMAX) -0.5%; Marcus (MCS) -0.5%; Reading International (RDI) -0.5%; Cineplex (CGX:CA) -3%; National CineMedia (NCMI) -5.7%.