Movies
‘The Raid’ Remake Delayed Until 2015
Variety is reporting that Sony Screen Gems has delayed production on their remake of the Indonesian masterpiece The Raid, which saw its sequel hit theaters this past spring.
Sources close to the production tell Variety that plans to begin shooting the action pic in September have been pushed back and pre-production has been halted. Insiders add that the film isn’t being put into turnaround (this is good news) and that the plan is to still shoot in the first quarter of 2015.
The film was getting close to a greenlight as execs were zeroing on an ensemble with sources indicating that Luke Evans, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Ethan Hawke were frontrunners for roles. However, other insiders said no casting decisions had been made and no offers were sent out. It’s possible that one reason for the delay is that producers are seeking a bigger name.
Patrick Hughes is still on board to direct about an elite Indonesian S.W.A.T. team that raids a building where a gangster and his thugs are embedded and chaos ensues.
Brad Ingelsby penned the script. XYZ Films is producing the pic.
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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