Movies
Darabont Steps Down As ‘Walking Dead’ Showrunner
Apparently, the question we should have asked Frank Darabont during the roundtables for The Walking Dead at last weekend’s Comic Con is “Are you planning to stay with the show for the entire season?” Because today, per Deadline, Darabont reportedly stepped down as showrunner for the hit AMC show, and it is unknown if he will even remain on-board in any capacity as of this writing.
It was well publicized here on Bloody back in May that there were major issues with the writing staff in between the two seasons, and according to Deadline, Darabont never quite settled into the daily grind of TV after working in features for so long, so perhaps this isn’t as big of a surprise as we think. Hopefully we’ll learn more in the next few days, but I tell you, if this was something that was known to the cast and crew present at SDCC, they ALL deserve acting nominations, and Darabont himself might want to look into acting, as there was no indication (to me) that this sort of major drama was unfolding. Whatever the outcome, the show is still on track to have its season premiere on October 16th. Check out the awesome trailer below, and keep an eye here for some interviews from SDCC!
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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