Movies
‘Lights Out’ Director Just Made 20-Minute Making of Doc; Watch Now!
Even if you didn’t dig the movie, this is a great little filmmaking class.
If you want to be a filmmaker, all the knowledge you need can be found in your DVD/Blu-ray collection. The special features, especially commentary tracks, included on the home video releases of your favorite movies often dig deep into the process, providing a wealth of information that you don’t need to pay a ton of money to learn at film school. So watch. And pay attention.
One of the filmmakers who’s really great about sharing his secrets is David F. Sandberg, who directed Lights Out and this year’s Annabelle: Creation. Sandberg spends a good deal of time on social media talking with aspiring filmmakers, and he’s always eager to share information. To that point, he’s just uploaded a YouTube video that takes you behind the scenes of Lights Out.
Titled “Planning the Scares,” the 20-minute mini documentary can not be found on the Lights Out DVD or Blu-ray, and it covers the extensive pre-production planning process. Enjoy.
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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