Movies
[Box Office] ‘Midsommar’ Eclipsed by Clutter, Still Opens On Par with ‘Hereditary’
Hereditary director Ari Aster‘s cult following wasn’t strong enough to brainwash people into theaters for his Midsommar, which managed only $10.9M over the holiday weekend.
“Cult” is the appropriate word here as I’m not quite sure A24 expected more from their overly long arthouse horror film that had the displeasure of opening against Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home and going up against Toy Story in its third week of release, not to mention both Child’s Play and Annabelle Comes Home, which all ended up stealing the market from one another. Horror can work in the summer, but not when there’s clutter spreading the money across several releases.
Midsommar‘s (read our review) budget is reported at under $10M, which helps soften the blow if the film doesn’t manage a strong international release. With that said, it won’t take much for this film to trickle into the profit zone and I’m positive A24 isn’t sweating it. Hereditary opened to insane, over-the-top hype and only managed $13.5M in its opening weekend. The $10M here doesn’t come as a surprise to this writer, especially when Annabelle Comes Home only conjured up $20M in its opening. Anyone writing Midsommar‘s numbers off as a “flop” doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
Speaking of Annabelle Comes Home (read our review), the third film in the Conjuring spinoff franchise managed another $9.75M in its second week of release. It currently sits at $50M here in the States with a global total of $134M. Ironically, the film is struggling to muster up half of that of Annabelle: Creation. Even so, the franchise is hugely profitable and we should expect several more Conjuring films over the years.
As for Chucky and Orion’s Child’s Play (review) reboot, the film was slashed by 66% and added a measly $1.4M as it works its way out of theaters. With $26.8M here in the States and still no international numbers to account for, it’s becoming debatable as to if Orion moves forward on a sequel. In fact, the numbers are dwindling quicker than expected and may fall short of the $30-$40M domestic projection. With Orion rarely reporting international numbers, I can only assume they pre-sold territories for the release. Those unreported numbers will dictate how much of a hit or miss the new take actually was.
Next up is Paramount Pictures’ Crawl. Their Pet Sematary remake was a huge hit, can this Sam Raimi-produced/Alex Aja directed thriller take a bite out of the box office next weekend?
Exclusives
‘Halloween Store’ Posters Spotlight the Cast Trapped at the Shriek Shack in Campy Horror Comedy [Exclusive]
A killer loose on Halloween spells bad news for last-minute shoppers and employees at a costume shop in the upcoming campy horror comedy Halloween Store, and the official posters introduce the unlucky ensemble cast caught in the Shriek Shack.
Shane Dax Taylor (Murder Company) directs from a script by Chad Law (6 Bullets) and Josh Ridgway (The Flood).
The logline for Halloween Store reads: “a group of people find themselves trapped inside a costume store on Halloween night with a mysterious killer on the loose.“
Natalie Alyn Lind (“Dutton Ranch“, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines) and Simon Rex (Red Rocket) lead the cast that includes Anthony Michael Hall (Halloween Kills), Thomas Dekker (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Nicholas Hamilton (It), Lindy Booth (Dawn of the Dead), Sydney Park (“The Walking Dead”), Grace Van Dien (“Stranger Things”), Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Bumblebee), Drew Ray Tanner (“Riverdale”), Kai Caster (“Spider Noir”) and Taipei Houston musicians Myles Ulrich and Layne Ulrich.
Meet the cast in the trio of official posters below, all hand-drawn by the artist Kadie Video.
It also gives a tiny glimpse of the Halloween store itself, Shriek Shack.
In addition to starring, Lind also produces Halloween Store alongside Kenneth Burke and Andrey Romanyuk. “Saturday Night Live” mainstay Kenan Thompson and Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) are among the executive producers on the project.
The posters indicate Shriek Shack might be one fun romp of a destination this Halloween season.
Stay tuned for additional news and release details for Halloween Store.
Natalie Alyn Lind, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Thomas Dekker, Anthony Michael Hall. Art by Kadie Video.
Simon Rex, Sydney Park, Kai Caster, Grave Van Dien. Art by Kadie Video.
Drew Ray Tanner, Lindy Booth, Nicholas Hamilton, Myles Ulrich, Layne Ulrich. Art by Kadie Video.
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