Movies
SDCC ’09: Stunning First ‘Solomon Kane’ Image!
Premiering at the Toronto International “Midnight Madness” portion of the film festival is Mchael J. Bassett’s Solomon Kane, which stars James Babson, Laura Baranik, Geoff Bell, Matthew Blood-Smyth, Brian Caspe, John Comer, Mackenzie Crook. This morning we got our hands on the official poster and first hi-res still from the film that is described by Wikipedia as “a somber looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanquish evil in all its forms..” Sounds like a plan to me, can I join ya’?
The character of SOLOMON KANE was originated by pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard, the legendary creator of CONAN and RED SONJA. The film adaptation tells the heroic story of a savage warrior in 16th Century England who seeks redemption for a lifetime of sins by renouncing violence to live a life of purity, only to find himself compelled to pick up his sword once again to vanquish a growing evil.
Anchored by a star-making performance by James Purefoy (RESIDENT EVIL, ROME, THE PHILANTHORPIST), SOLOMON KANE is an action-packed, dark and intense story with a stellar supporting cast, including Pete Postlethwaite (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE CONSTANT GARDNER), Max Von Sydow (CONAN THE BARBARIAN, THE TUDORS), Rachel Hurd Wood (PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER), Alice Krige (DEADWOOD, SILENT HILL, STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT) and Mackenzie Crook (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN trilogy).
Said Michael J. Bassett, “I hope that when the fans see the clips of Kane and meet James Purefoy they’re going to know that this film is an authentic and serious minded attempt to make a quality heroic-fantasy movie. Robert E. Howard is one of the founding fathers of fantasy fiction, so being able to bring him to the true genre fans of the San Diego Comic Con is really exciting and a huge privilege for me.”
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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