Did you get the invite?
Something a bit rare happened last weekend. The top spot at the domestic box office went to an original horror film. Not a sequel, reboot, remake or requel, but a chilling (almost) totally original title. Director Jessica M. Thomson The invite defeated Bullet Train, Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes, Top Gun: Maverickand Three thousand years of nostalgia to land his place at the top of the heap. But this victory for our gender comes with an asterisk. The invite earned just $7 million last weekend, an all-time low income for the fourth weekend in August.
The invitea Dracula-inspired romantic horror-thriller, was released by Sony’s Screen Gems to just over 3,000 US screens over the weekend. While his $7 million payback isn’t worth shaking a stick at, it’s certainly not a sweet spot for the top summer earner. For context, according to Rotten Tomatoesit’s the first time a first-place finish in August has brought in less than $10 million since The Raven: City of Angels back in 1996.
But a lot has changed since the Spice Girls ruled the world, and a $7 million lead without word of mouth might actually be quite the feat. The invite was not screened for critics prior to its release. Another sign of success comes in the form of the recent Radio Silence classic Ready or Not. The title, thematically and aesthetically familiar to The invite, also earned nearly $8 million in the fourth weekend of August. I also want to mention that these films share similar sized budgets, with Ready or Not ends up doing well.
While I’m always proud to see a horror movie top the charts, it gives me anxiety to watch the industry perform so poorly. In a brighter alternate universe, this weekend would have seen a week three streak for the mainstream action fare. High-speed train. Although, maybe things need to burn so we can build them back better.
Finally, have you seen The invite Again? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter via @joshkorngut. I’m always here to discuss all things horror box office!
Tags: Box Office Ready or Not The Invitation
