Movies
‘Pirates’ Sinks ‘Alien: Covenant’ at the Box Office
Early estimates are in and they’re brutal.
Not since the Friday the 13th remake can I recall a drop like this as Twentieth Century Fox’s Alien: Covenant was burned by Baywatch and sunk by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. In fact, the Friday estimates were so bad that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 beat out Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel.
As I reported opening weekend, while posting numbers a drop lower than Prometheus, there wasn’t much to worry about especially since the budget was reported around $30 million less this go around.
But this is BAD.
Covenant made an estimated $3 million on Friday, making it a whopping 80% drop from the $15 million the week prior. As Forbes notes, this puts it on track to be one of the ten biggest second-week drops of all time.
Were the negative reviews or crowded early summer box office to blame? Whatever the case, this is a holiday weekend when a newly released film should be thriving. Instead, Covenant is floundering, being absolutely punished by other summer blockbusters. But what hurts the most is that Covenant is the only horror films out there, although the resurgence of R-rated comedies (Baywatch) may have something to do with this.
We’ll report back after the weekend comes to a close with better estimates, but this isn’t looking good, especially if the international numbers take a hit as well.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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