Movies
Disney Digs ‘The Graveyard Book’
If you’re a fan of Coraline (or any of Neil Gaiman’s other works) you might want to extend your health insurance policy until around 2014 because that’s when you might finally see The Graveyard Book hit the silver screen. Disney has picked up the rights to Gaiman’s gothic children’s version of The Jungle Book.
Per Deadline,”Disney has just made a high six figure deal for The Graveyard Book, the bestselling children’s title by Neil Gaiman. The book, which won the Newberry Medal among other awards, is a riff on Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Gaiman’s works include Coraline, The Sandman and American Gods. The book attracted attention at every studio upon release, and it was optioned for a large fee by UK Effects House Framestore. They had Neil Jordan attached to direct, but never got it off the ground, even though they kept renewing the option.”
So it looks like Jordan is off this thing and they’re on the hunt for a new director. In the book, “instead of a boy raised by wolves in the jungle, Gaiman tells the story of the last surviving child of a murdered family raised by ghosts in a graveyard.”
Who would you like to see direct this thing?
Just three years after Evil Dead Rise set the box office on fire with a $147 million worldwide haul, Evil Dead Burn was unleashed into theaters this past weekend. Unfortunately, the opening weekend for Evil Dead Burn wasn’t quite as strong as the debut for its predecessor.
Evil Dead Burn debuted in 3,004 theaters across North America and scared up $13.7 million in its domestic debut, about $10 million less than Evil Dead Rise‘s $24.5 million opening.
Worldwide, Evil Dead Burn debuted with $25 million. Given the film’s production budget was somewhere in the ballpark of $20 million, all is certainly not lost for Evil Dead Burn. That said, Warner Bros. and New Line no doubt hoped that Burn would top or at least match the domestic opening of Rise, but instead we’re looking at a case of diminishing franchise returns.
The good news for fans? Next installment Evil Dead Wrath has already wrapped production for expected release in 2028, so there’s no danger of the franchise ending with Evil Dead Burn.
Evil Dead Wrath from director Francis Galluppi (The Last Stop in Yuma County) is currently set for theatrical release on April 7, 2028, though that could change in the coming months.
Will the Evil Dead franchise be taking a break after Evil Dead Wrath? That all depends on how Wrath performs at the box office. But for what it’s worth, the post-credits scene at the end of Evil Dead Burn suggests that the franchise’s creators are hopeful for a bright future ahead.
The critical reception for Evil Dead Burn was a bit less positive than the reception to Evil Dead Rise, with Rise hitting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and Burn currently sitting at 71%. It’s interesting to note, however, that the “Popcornmeter” on Rotten Tomatoes is a bit higher for Burn than it was for Rise, with Burn‘s currently at 80% and Rise‘s sitting a tad lower at 76%.
The site’s “Popcornmeter” scores are decided by users, rather than verified movie critics.
Which do you prefer? Evil Dead Rise or Evil Dead Burn? Sound off below.
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