Movies
M. Night Shyamalan Goes Full ‘Psycho’ in the Trailer For ‘Split’!
It’s Psycho meets Identity meets 10 Cloverfield Lane in the chilling first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, which stars James McAvoy (X-Men) as a psychopath harboring 23 identities.
The Witch‘s Anya Taylor-Joy is kidnapped (along with two of her friends) by McAvoy in this suspense thriller that’s said to have elements of the supernatural. Here’s the kicker… there may or may not be a monster. If there is, it might just be McAvoy who physically transforms into one; it’s like a new kind of werewolf movie with a taste of “Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”! Honestly, though, I sort of hate that Universal already revealed that McAvoy may be transforming into something called “the beast”, and think it could have been an awesome reveal. With that said, Shyamalan is the king (is he though?) of the twist ending, so who knows what surprises are at upon us.
Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula and Haley Lu Richardson also star in Split, which Universal will release in theaters on January 20, 2017.
While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.
Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
Split brings back part of the team from The Visit, which includes producer Marc Bienstock, Jason Blum, and executive producers Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider (Insidious, Blair Witch).
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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