Movies
Nobody Attends ‘Hell Fest’; ‘The Predator’ Has Its Spine Ripped Out [Box Office]
CBS Films finally made a good movie and it bombs. Go figure. Hell Fest, the Gregory Plotkin-directed slasher, bombed at the box office during its opening weekend earning an abysmal estimated $5M domestically. For a film pegged as the beginning of a new franchise, I think it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing a sequel anytime soon. If anything, the film’s success will be solely based on international numbers, if there are any. With a $5.5M reported budget, it’s at least looking to break even through it’s run, which should land somewhere between $12-15M. This opening was so weak that it couldn’t even beat The Nun in its fourth weekend.
Speaking of The Nun, New Line Cinema’s latest The Conjuring spinoff just topped $300M worldwide, while the Eli Roth-directed The House With a Clock In Its Walls is sitting at $44.7M domestic and only $53M worldwide. On a $42 reported budget, things aren’t looking so hot for this Jack Black-starrer children’s comedy. Lastly, The Predator is dying a quick death, dropping another 60% to a $3.7M weekend and $105M worldwide total. The budget is a reported massive $88M and looking at major losses.
This is all a little shocking considering how hot horror has been as of late. Is this fall too cluttered? It’s possible. Venom is poised to come in and take a huge chunk out of the box office next weekend, and then Goosebumps 2 and Halloween are waiting in the wings. With all three set to open huge, the earlier aforementioned films are about to get ravaged here in the States.
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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