The execs, citing that the target audience for Ben Stiller comedies is young adults, predominantly male, the same as the target audience for Halo, proves that the game had some impact on the poor ticket sales.
Although it is possible that $10 million dollars worth of sales stayed at home to play Halo 3 all weekend, it is more likely that the less than warm critical reviews were to blame. Not to mention the movie had an "R" rating, while Halo had a "M" rating, meaning younger viewers could not see the movie but could play the game.
The October 5th weekend was the movie industry's worst October week since 1999, with only $80 million in ticket sales but its unbelievable that industry execs would blame Halo for the poor ticket sales.
Source:
Dailytech