From Barbie to the demonic nun. After the pink hues of Greta Gerwig’s film about the Mattel doll, which dominated the summer movie season, it’s time for horror for the audience. In fact, The Nun 2, still produced by Warner Bros., is first in the ranking in the United States, grossing a good 32.6 million dollars. A great result for the spin-off sequel of The Conjuring, thus dethroning the third chapter of The Equalizer with Denzel Washington, which in the second weekend of stay in the theater has earned over 12.1 million, thus totaling about 62 million. What happens, instead, in Italy? Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is still at the top, while Michael Chaves’ horror is in second place, with almost 2.5 million euros in box office receipts.
What do these data say, especially for overseas cinema? Horror is becoming an increasingly safe alternative. Especially after the pandemic. This is evidenced by the success of some titles in recent years. After continuous postponements due to the arrival of the virus, A Quiet Place II by John Krasinski, also starring with Emily Blunt, managed to gross 48 million dollars in the first American opening weekend, quickly becoming the first title to have exceeded 100 million dollars in the domestic market in the Covid era. Counting the data from other countries, it totaled a good 297.4 million. The Conjuring – By order of the Devil instead totaled 24 million dollars in the first weekend of programming, reaching a milestone of 200 million worldwide. Not bad for a title that cost 39 million. If Smile by Parker Finn, in his directorial debut, was the big success of 2022, with over 200 million dollars in front of a budget of only 17 million, there is another interesting title this year. In addition to the sixth chapter of Scream, with Jenna Ortega, the protagonist of the TV series Wednesday, which has become the chapter of the saga with the best performance at the US box office (108 million). It’s about M3GAN. Arrived in theaters at the beginning of the year, in the midst of the Avatar phenomenon, although it was conceived as a decidedly smaller project, with an even lower cost of 12 million dollars, it managed to carve out a blockbuster position, with 180 million. An incredible success, which led to the announcement of a sequel, scheduled for January 2025.
The future? Saw X, set between the first two chapters of the saga, which will see the return of Tobin Bell in the role of John Kramer/Jigsaw, in theaters in October. Fifty years after the cult of William Friedkin, who passed away just over a month ago, it will also be the turn of The Exorcist – The Believer. David Gordon Green got behind the camera to make the direct sequel to tell what happened after all this time, with Ellen Burstyn returning to wear the role of Chris MacNeil. The intention is to give life to a new trilogy, just as the director did with the reboot of Halloween. A very expensive operation, as Universal has invested a good 400 million dollars for its realization. Scheduled for November in the United States is Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, born from the fake trailer contained in Grindhouse, a film signed in 2007 by the director together with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie. Bryce McGuire’s Night Swim will certainly make people talk, considering that behind it are the producers of M3GAN, Jason Blum of Blumhouse and James Wan of Atomic Monster. As well as the supernatural horror, The Watchers, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana, in her big screen debut.
Horror cinema is profitable. Projects are increasing, even budgets if necessary. Action scenes for their own sake, along the lines of Mission Impossible, are no longer enough. People are looking for collective emotion. Fear is the right direction.
By Enjoy Your Life Here