A new version of the cult horror film Halloween has topped the US box office, with ticket sales expected to reach $30m (£15m) over the four-day weekend.
The film, directed by Rob Zombie, has already broken the record for a film released across US Labor Day weekend, according to studio estimates.
Based on the cult 1978 original by John Carpenter, the re-make has taken $26.5m (£13m) since its release on Friday.
The previous Labor Day record saw Transporter 2 take $16.5m in 2005.
The original Halloween, about masked killer Michael Myers, launched the career of actress Jamie Lee Curtis. It made over $60m (£30m) worldwide - a record for independent film at that time.
Teen comedy Superbad slipped to second place, taking $12.2m (£6m) over the three-day period.
Two other films debuted in the US top 10. Martial arts comedy Balls of Fury came in at number three, while Kevin Bacon's vigilante thriller, Death Sentence, claimed eighth place.
Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3 rounded out the top five.
Zombie's Halloween, the ninth film in the series, focuses on the grim childhood of psychopath Myers.
However producer Bob Weinstein doubts there will be a follow-up film.
"I never say never never... but it would have to be something very, very different," he told Reuters.
Rock star
Rob Zombie, who rose to fame as the frontman of heavy metal band White Zombie, previously made House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.
Last year he told The Hollywood Reporter that Carpenter had backed the latest version of his cult classic.
"He was very supportive, which I thought was very important," said Zombie.
"Halloween started off as a very terrifying concept, a terrifying movie. But over the years, Michael Myers has become a friendly Halloween mask," Zombie continued.
"But I think the story and the situation is scary. All it needed was someone to come in and to take a totally different approach to make it scary again."
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