Horror show: North American box office records lowest monthly total since 1997

<p>Halloween weekend failed to make numbers jump, adding up to the weakest monthly performance – other than during the pandemic – for three decades</p><p>Box office earnings in October have crashed to levels not seen since the late 1990s, with Halloween weekend becoming the worst of the year so far.</p><p><a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/october-box-office-record-low-ticket-sales-smashing-machine-tron-ares-flop-1236567987/">According to a report in Variety,</a> cinema takings for October in North America totalled $425m (£323m), the lowest figure since October 1997, when it was $385m – not counting October 2020, when <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/month/by-year/2020/?grossesOption=calendarGrosses">North American cinemas only took $63m</a> as moviegoing was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/03/north-american-box-office-lowest-monthly-total-for-three-decades">Continue reading...</a>