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

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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.

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Don Mancini in the “Early Stages” of Working On a New “Chucky” Movie!

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Chucky death

Everyone’s favorite killer doll is headed back to the small screen with “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 on April 10, but are any further movies being planned at this time?

Created by Don Mancini, the “Chucky” television series remarkably plays around with existing elements from all previous films without disregarding ANYTHING from the past. From the original Child’s Play to sequels including Child’s Play 2, Bride of Chucky and even Seed of Chucky, it’s all one cohesive timeline that Mancini remains deeply committed to.

Of course, the most recent film in the Child’s Play franchise was the 2019 remake, to date the only movie in the saga that’s NOT part of Mancini’s vision. Is Mancini’s original incarnation going to spend his final days on TV, while another Chucky will be featured in the movies? It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves for the last few years, and we may now have an answer.

Speaking with the Scream Dreams Podcast this week, Mancini revealed that he’s in the early stages of development on a potential new installment in the original Chucky film franchise!

new Chucky movie

CHUCKY — “Jennifer’s Body” Episode 303 — Pictured in this screengrab: Chucky — (Photo by: SYFY)

“Like anyone in this business, I want to do more things. At this point though if it’s only Chucky I’m totally cool with that,” Mancini explains. “I have other things I want to do. I’m working on a new pilot. I’m also, actually, in the early stages of working on a new Chucky movie.”

Mancini adds, “At this point, my goal is just to keep working.”

Outside of the aforementioned Child’s Play remake, there are to date seven installments in the franchise, with Cult of Chucky (2017) being the original franchise’s most recent film.

For now, Chucky remains a small screen icon. Don’t miss the premiere of Season 3: Part 2 on both USA and SYFY on April 10, with new episodes hitting Peacock the day after they air.

You can watch Don Mancini’s full chat with Scream Dreams below.

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