Connect with us

Movies

‘Jigsaw’ Hits $100M, While ‘IT’ Nears $700M at the Box Office!

Published

on

It was the worst summer movie season in a decade, but us horror fans aren’t sweating it. Our genre killed in 2017, decimating everything in its path. Two films continue to hit milestones, collectively nearing $800 million worldwide.

First, and most notable, is Andy Muschietti‘s IT, the Stephen King adaptation that propelled Pennywise into pop culture stardom, and turned Finn Wolfhard into a superstar. Originally a Warner Bros. production, the film was shifted over to New Line Cinema after a series of budget issues and butting heads with director Cary Fukunaga. Saying IT exceeded expectations is an understatement. As of this writing, the film is just $6M shy of hitting $700M worldwide!

This will be such a tremendous feat and cause for celebration, but let’s not allow other news outlets to convince you it’s the biggest horror film of all time. M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Sixth Sense inflated to top $1B, while William Friedkin‘s The Exorcist adjusts to around $1.8 BILLION. If you want to include Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws, you’re talking over $2 BILLION. Yeesh.

Digressing, let’s take a look at Twisted Pictures and Lionsgate’s Jigsaw, their eighth film in the Saw franchise that I saw called a “failure” and “disappointment” by several publications. It’s far from it, now topping $100M worldwide. Shot on a reported budget of only $10M, it needed to hit approximately $40M to break even, making this a monstrous success. So big, in fact, I could see Jigsaw’s games continuing, maybe even as a television series. The reason many wrote this off as a flop (without doing any investigating) is because Jigsaw, as good as it’s doing, came in about $40M less than its 2010 predecessor, Saw 3D. It’s called diminishing returns, and it’s also been several years since we’ve seen a Saw film in theaters. Frankly, I’m surprised so many people turned out to see it considering the younger generation didn’t grow up with the first eight films.

If you include Split, Get Out, Annabelle: Creation, among other genre films, horror could top $2B this year. I think it’s time the Acadamy takes notice and instead of making fun of our successes (see the Saw “skit” in the 2005 Acadamy Awards) embraces them. For now, we’ll just gloat as a community about how horror is not and never was dead.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Movies

SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

Published

on

As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

Continue Reading