Movies
Comic-Con ’11: Original ‘Dark Shadows’ Cast to Cameo in Feature!
Sometimes bringing back an original cast can be disengaging (see all of Rob Zombie’s movies), but other times it actually sounds like a brilliant idea. Hermes Press hosted a Dark Shadows panel at the San Diego Comic-Con with Lara Parker (Angelique), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans and Josette du Pres), Jim Pierson (consulting producer for the new Dark Shadows film), and the son of series creator Dan Curtis. The big reveal was that four of the original cast members will be making cameos in Tim Burton’s new film!
Daniel Herman (publisher, Hermes Press) moderated, and Parker and Scott were just about bursting at the seams to share the news that they, along with both David Selby (Quentin Collins) and, yes, the much beloved Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) spent three days at Pinewood Studios during the filming of Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows movie. They will all be making cameos, but the real highlight for the quartet was being able to thank Johnny Depp (who plays Barnabas in the new version) for all the kind words and tributes he has given the 45-year-old show, especially as it relates to Frid and his performance. The icing on the cake was Depp telling Frid in person, “None of this would be here if it wasn’t for you.” – as reported by The Woman In Black.
Warners has slotted the film for release on May 11, 2012.
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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