Movies
[Box Office] M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Glass’ Holiday Opening Nears $100M, ‘Escape Room’ Hits $50M Globally
This past weekend’s January slot continues to be a goldmine for studios with Universal Pictures opening M. Night Shyamalan‘s Glass (read our review) in theaters everywhere. Even with torrid reviews, the film found an audience (its CinemaScore was actually higher than that of Unbreakable!) and matched its predecessor’s weekend opening with an estimated $40.59 million. It will earn an estimated $48M through the extended holiday. That’s massive considering the film’s reported $20M budget, which is double that of Split. Even at $20M, the film is already in the profit zone when you add in the insane $48M international opening for a global take of $89.1M ($97.1M by tomorrow). If you’re interested in the potential global life of Glass, Universal’s Split managed $278M in 2017. If Universal had their way, another sequel would be on the horizon, although Shyamalan owns the rights and had publicly stated that this will probably be the end to the trilogy. This is probably all she wrote, folks.
[ALSO READ] Heroes and Villains: A Primer for M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass
As for the other January hit, Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Escape Room is finally seeing international numbers trickle in ($13M with $8.5M of that coming from China). As we suspected, the Adam Rabotel-directed thriller is topping $50M globally ($53.7M) on a mere $9M budget. Our declaration of it being a hit was a bit premature, although we are now there. Escape Room *will* become a franchise. Book it.
As usual, horror is owning the January box office and setting the stage for yet another great year of genre success stories. While it’s mostly laughable to celebrate a film’s box office take, it does open the door for studios to take more chances on horror. A win for horror is a win for all of us.
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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