Yet again, horror is going out of its way to surprise people in 2026, with another movie that seemingly no one expected to make much money suddenly having a legitimate chance at becoming a success. The movie is called Buddy.
And if you haven’t heard of Buddy, the premise alone should get your attention. Written and directed by Too Many Cooks creator Casper Kelly, the movie takes the relentlessly cheerful world of a 1990s children’s television program and turns it into a nightmare. At the center of the fictional show It’s Buddy! is Buddy, a giant bright-orange unicorn voiced by Keegan-Michael Key who sings songs, plays games and teaches children wholesome life lessons. Think Barney & Friends, Blue’s Clues and Pee-wee’s Playhouse thrown into a blender — and then turned into a horror movie. When one of the children refuses to participate in Buddy’s activities and subsequently disappears, the other kids begin to realize that their colorful television world isn’t quite what it seems, and neither is their supposedly lovable host. The film also stars Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, Delaney Quinn, Michael Shannon and Patton Oswalt.
And apparently audiences were willing to take a chance on something this bizarre.
Buddy has emerged as the latest independent horror success story, grossing an estimated $5,363,827 from only 1,258 theaters during its opening weekend. That’s roughly double the early projections of $2.5 million to $3 million. The Roadside Attractions and Saban Films release now holds the biggest opening weekend of 2026 for a movie released on fewer than 1,800 screens. It’s also reportedly the second-biggest opening in Roadside Attractions’ history and the largest opening ever for Saban Films.