News from the box office does not bode well for M Night Shyamalan or horror…
While BAD BOYS 4 is making money *very little of course when you compare to box offices of summers past* the WATCHERS is flailing like someone stuck in quicksand..
Warner Bros.’ thriller “The Watchers” earned a meager $2.9 million across Friday and preview screenings.. this continues a pattern of horror features underperforming at the box office this year.
It will struggle to match its projections for a $10 million bow.
Meanwhile the lazy cat keeps plugging away–and almost as good as THE WATCHERS! Sony’s “The Garfield Movie” earned $2.8 million on Friday, just 27% off from its $3.7 million gross a week ago. The animated feature will purr to $68 million total in North America through Sunday! The feel good sleeper of the summer keeps yawning but yet earning..
Sony and Columbia’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” got off to a solid start at the box office with $21.6 millionfrom 3,885 locations across Friday and preview screenings.. $53 mil is expected for the full weekend..
Let’s first start with this: There was something very calming about watching the horror flick LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL in a theater with a packed audience.. we highly recommend it if you can find a theater showing it.
Now that we have that out of the way…
The Shudder horror film LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL was getting rave reviews and even had a 100% rotten rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES.. While it is maintaining a decent rating with critics and an 83% with audiences, controversy marred the opening weekend.
At issue: The AI art..
Just a few images, really. But those images caused shockwaves of hostility across social media platforms..
When it was revealed this week that the film used some AI imagery, there were immediate calls for a boycott of the movie.
Cameron and Colin Cairnes, the Australian siblings who wrote and directed the film, released a statement to Variety clarifying the scope of AI art in the film. The statement reads:
“In conjunction with our amazing graphics and production design team, all of whom worked tirelessly to give this film the 70s aesthetic we had always imagined, we experimented with AI for three still images which we edited further and ultimately appear as very brief interstitials in the film. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talented and passionate cast, crew and producing team go above and beyond to help bring this film to life. We can’t wait for everyone to see it for themselves this weekend.”
But consider the fact that the film was made prior to 2024.. released originally in 2023 (long before the current AI debate really hit like it’s doing now) … Can we get some forgiveness?
Beyond the AI controversy, some truly despised this movie–others seemingly loved it. Perusing the former Twitterverse now Xsphere, we are greeted by a number of people who hated the film giving it a o out of 10.. others who loved it with a 9 out of 10. There seems to be little meeting in the middle among fans.
Seriously.. David Dastmalchian rocked this role.
The movie will be in some people’s top 10 of horror.. others will not think to include it.
At the point this is written, IFC’s LATE NIGHT is showing in 1,034 locations .. it posted a $1.1M Friday, 3-day heading to $2.9M. From reports, there are solid numbers in NYC, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Edmonton, Dallas, San Antonio and LA..
So many have been looking forward to March 22 for a long time–movies to finally choose from at a box office that may be enjoyable!!
GHOSTBUSTERS FROZEN EMPIRE is taking on another little movie that could, LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, this weekend..
So many are hopeful that the old busters will make them feel nostalgic inside, the magic may be wearing thing. The 30 year rule has passed–the idea that nostalgia only works well if this movie would have been made in 2014, not 2024..
Ghostbusters:Frozen Empire can’t decide between nostalgia, humor, or heart. So, it opts for a scattershot version of all three. Whereas Afterlife grappled with family legacy, Frozen Empire isn’t sure of itself beyond addressing the shift from old guard to new. But it’s still far too reliant on nostalgia to serve as the next step in the franchise’s evolution, and that also includes the formula, right down to updated lines like “Are you the flame master?” It winds up a series of charming moments cast adrift amidst an overly simplistic, familiar story.
But the other movie set to draw attention from horror fans is LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL–it has received mostly decent press at this point. The movie’s limited release is unfortunate, too bad it is not wide, but it is exciting. Hopefully you will be able to find a theater showing the movie — it seems like it is just one of those that needs to be experienced in a dark theater on a big screen..
It is predictable that the seniors will be top dogs at the box.. Nostalgia will get one last win for the Gipper of 1984 Slimer fame.
MORE.. ″The Marvels was shot during Covid,” he explained.
“There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”
Bob, Bob.. the movie may have been shot then but all of the advertising was done after..
All of the big splashy product placements.. billboards. Trailers.
Not one bit sparked interest .. the fanbase seemingly gave up when all of the characters they were fans of were pushed to the side for a new universe that no one seems to understand or desire..
There is tremendous hand wringing about the movie THE MARVELS and its release at the box office. Its failure has been blamed on mail dominated fan bases–bias! Discrimination! The movie was just so perfect but yet not appreciated.
But a viewing of the film.. really.. can prove otherwise. The script was weak. The lines were awful. Any small bits of humors were far and few between and for the most part it was a showcase of how we are at a point of no return with comic book movies. They have worn us down.
And even the greatest Marvels fans? Well they too may be done with all this madness in the Marvelverse!
The first week for the film was fairly low. The next week it dropped substantially. We are now at a point where the studio is going to be hardpressed to make much money from this movie.
Various sources this morning are lamenting a weak weekend release for THE EXORCIST. Despite some appealing early buzz, the movie seemingly lost its way. It will reportedly earn $27 mil this weekend in domestic runs. Keep in mind the studio purchased the rights for .. drumroll.. $400 million
Universal originally had the horror theatrical release date of Friday the 13th this month before AMC’s Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour landed on that date. However, going earlier really wasn’t the problem here for Exorcist: Believer. It was always in the execution.
Social media analytics firm RelishMix noticed online chatter that had many piling on the rhetorical issue of remakes, as they questioned, “Why re-paint the Mona Lisa of Horror?”
While horror has been bankable during the pandemic, and this opening for Exorcist: Believer (despite coming in under tracking’s $30M projection) in the wheelhouse of other genre openings, Evil Dead ($24.5M), Smile ($22.6M), The Black Phone ($23.6M) and Nun II‘s $32.6M, many still say that this actors’ strike, and performers’ unable to promote their wares is truly weighing down on ticket sales. A studio just can’t scream these movies from the hilltops in their promotions on social media, at premieres and festivals. Consider the fact that the phenomenal results for 2018’s Halloween began when Blumhouse blasted off the movie at TIFF’s Midnight Madness.
Smile grossed around $217 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.
Planning went underwater quickly for a sequel while the iron was still hot. Deadline reported the sequel will be hitting theaters as soon as next year in 2024.
“Paramount has set Oct. 18, 2024 for the next Smile movie.”
Deadline also adds that original Smile director “Parker Finn is coming back to helm Smile 2.”
While smile may make studio executives grinning from ear to ear at potential profits in 2024, the movie itself was one of the better. Additionally, the roll out of the film that included people creepily posing in baseball games and just smiling for nine innings really helped get the word out in an impressive way.
Can they muster up a entrance into the box office fray as successful as their first go around?
BARBIE AND OPPENHEIMER SAVED THE BOX OFFICE THIS SUMMER!
Without them, movies this season may have faced calamity..
“As a seemingly out of reach goal just a couple of months ago, the $4 billion domestic summer season box office has become a reality over Labor Day weekend, reflecting not only a strong lineup of films, but the desire by audiences to embrace the time-honored tradition of going to the movies in the hottest moviegoing season of the year,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
“Barbie” is the highest grossing film of the summer (and the year) with $612 million in North America and $1.36 billion globally to date. “Oppenheimer” also wildly outperformed expectations with $311 at the domestic box office and $850 million worldwide.
Other top stateside earners this summer include Sony’s animated “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($381 million), Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” ($358 million), “The Little Mermaid” remake ($298 million) and the Jim Caviezel-led action thriller “Sound of Freedom” ($181 million). Those blockbusters helped to make up for underperforming tentpoles like DC’s superhero adaptation “The Flash” and Disney’s remake of “Haunted Mansion.”
Sony’s late-summer event pic Gran Turismodeclared victory at the weekend box office race with a $17.3 million domestic opening, a somewhat muted start for a movie based on a popular video game. The hope now is that an A CinemaScore from audiences will provide a turbo boost in the days to come.
Directed by Neill Blomkamp, the racing pic had been set to launch nationwide Aug. 11 but switched gears because of the actors strike and the resulting prohibition on the cast — led by Orlando Bloom and David Harbour — doing any press. The studio instead hosted two weekends of sneaks and a handful of fan screenings to build buzz before opening the movie everywhere Aug. 25.
