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‘It: Chapter Two’ Floats to $323 Million, While ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ and ‘Ready or Not’ Become Quiet Hits [Box Office]

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Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

New Line Cinema’s It: Chapter Two (read our review) continues to shred the box office competition, topping Hustlers in its first week of release. The sequel to the fresh Stephen King adaptation currently sits at $323 globally and is looking to float to somewhere in the $500M-$700M range in is full run. At a $65M reported budget, this is a huge, huge hit for the studio who is more than likely going to find a way to make another.  While this “franchise” was always pegged as a two-parter, it would be nice to see a prequel giving us more backstory on the origins of the elusive Pennywise.

Even though it’s exciting times for New Line Cinema and Pennywise, the real reason for this article is to showcase Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (review), which is quietly working its way towards $100M worldwide. As of this writing, it’s tiptoed its way to a surprising $91M. With a dangerous $25M budget, a recoup initially seemed highly unlikely, only the $26M collected overseas has helped it cross the profit threshold…and then some. With a reduced budget, I could see Lionsgate moving forward on a sequel, although it’s unclear how the closing of CBS Films will affect the Guillermo del Toro-produced franchise.

Lastly, Fox Searchlight’s horror-comedy Ready or Not, the critically acclaimed R-rated “Disney” film, has found even more money from international audiences and is now sitting at an impressive global total of $41M. Budgeted at a reported $6M, the film only needed $20-25M to recoup its small investment, which makes this a hit for Disney’s newly-acquired specialty studio.

Ready or Not, which is from V/H/S and Southbound filmmakers Radio Silence, follows a young bride (Samara Weaving) as she joins her new husband’s (Mark O’Brien) rich, eccentric family (Adam Brody, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell) in a time-honored tradition that turns into a lethal game with everyone fighting for their survival.

We want to see more games played!

Samara Weaving in the film READY OR NOT. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

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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‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Adds “Chucky” Actor Teo Briones and More to Lead Cast

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Chucky Actor Teo Briones
Pictured: Teo Briones in "Chucky" Season Two

The Final Destination franchise is returning to life with Final Destination: Bloodlines. With filming now underway, THR reports that three actors have joined the lead cast, including “Chucky” actor Teo Briones.

Brec Bassinger (“Stargirl”) and Kaitlyn Santa Juana (The Friendship Game) join Teo Briones, who played Junior Wheeler in season two of “Chucky,” as the leads in the sixth installment of the horror franchise.

Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) are directing the fresh installment that also includes Richard Harmon (“The 100”, Grave Encounters 2), Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones (The Book Of Boba Fett), Rya Kihlstedt (Obi Wan Kenobi), and Tinpo Lee (The Manor) among the cast.

Production is now underway in Vancouver.

What can we expect from the upcoming Final Destination 6? Speaking with Collider, franchise creator Jeffrey Reddick offered up an intriguing (and mysterious) tease last year.

“This film dives into the film in such a unique way that it attacks it from a different angle so you don’t feel like, ‘Oh, there’s an amazing setup and then there’s gonna be one wrinkle that can potentially save you all that you have to kind of make a moral choice about or do to solve it.’ There’s an expansion of the universe that – I’m being so careful,” Reddick teased.

Reddick continued, “It kind of unearths a whole deep layer to the story that kind of, yes, makes it really, really interesting.”

Final Destination: Bloodlines is written by Lori Evans Taylor (“Wicked Wicked Games”) and Guy Busick (Scream), with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) producing.

Producers on the new movie for New Line Cinema also include Dianne McGunigle (Cop Car) as well as Final Destination producers Craig Perry and Sheila Hanahan Taylor.

This will be the sixth installment in the hit franchise, and the first in over ten years. Each film centers on “Death” hunting down young friends who survive a mass casualty event.

The latest entry is expected in 2025, coinciding with the original film’s 25th anniversary.

 

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