Movies
‘Strangers’, Genre-lite Films Struggle at the Box Office
Genre films had been soaring at the box office, at least until Black Panther annihilated the competition. MGM’s Eli Roth-directed Death Wish, already disappointing in its debut last weekend, totaled up to $23,875,301 on a reported $30M budget. Without an international to report (yet), it’s looking at a heft loss in the guesstimated $15M+ range. Even with rave reviews, Paramount Pictures’ Annihilation is struggling to find an audience. The genre mashup is sitting at $26M domestic on a $40M budget (with no international reported yet), offering a potential $25M loss. Brutal.
As for newer titles, Aviron’s Strangers: Prey at Night opened to $10.5M, which isn’t necessarily terrible, but also isn’t anything to boast about. There’s no reported budget, but an educated guess would put it around $5M, and depending on the film’s marketing spend, the Johannes Roberts-directed sequel would need about $30M worldwide to hit the profit zone. I expect it to top $20M here in the States, so an international run and sales will be key to its financial success.
Lastly, Rob Cohen’s The Hurricane Heist unsurprisingly bombed horrifically debuting with only $3M on a $35M budget.
There’s plenty more horror to come this year, so hopefully, the genre can quickly regain its footing better than Cohen can direct an action sequence…
Sunrise Films has announced the official North American release of William Bagley‘s horror comedy Hold the Fort, and it’s accompanied by an energetic new trailer.
Hold the Fort debuts on digital platforms on June 23.
In the film, “Lucas and Jenny think their life is finally coming together when the couple become homeowners. Little do they know that their new house comes with a big catch. Lucas and Jenny soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they become trapped in a battle between their Homeowners Association and an onslaught of monsters from hell. The horror-comedy takes the timely concern of home-ownership and wraps this up in an entertaining action-packed thrill ride.“
Watch the new trailer below, which introduces one wild HOA gathering during an equinox. Things get bloody fast.
Chris Mayers (Adult Swim Yule Log), Haley Leary (“The Walking Dead”), Levi Burdick, and Julian Smith star.
William Bagley writes and directs, in addition to producing with Smith, Matt Dodd, Luke Williams, and Tim Reis (Adult Swim Yule Log).
Ahead of the release, Bagley said, “My goal with this film was to make a hilarious, fast-paced thrill ride while also telling a great story with heart. Hopefully, through all the blood, laughs, fights, and gags, you leave the film feeling inspired to tackle whatever life throws at you.“
Hold the Fort premiered at Fantasia last summer before going on to play FrightFest London, Toronto After Dark, and Beyond Fest.
I wrote in my review, “It’s an infectiously charming assemblage of jokes and monster vignettes bound together by a barebones plot with not much on its mind beyond delivering an entertaining time.”
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