After surviving plenty of challenges at the global box office in the last few weeks, Sony’sUntil Dawnfaced its biggest competition yet this week, in the form ofFinal Destination Bloodlines. The latest installment of the long-running horror franchiseexceeded expectations in its debut weekend, whileUntil Dawnsurrendered over 700 theaters domestically. Despite the setback, however,the video game adaptation was able to pass what will likely be its final global box office milestone. While the movie hasn’t exactly set the box office on fire, it has more than managed to recover costs.
With around $20 million domestically and another $30 million from overseas markets,Until Dawnispassing the $50 million worldwide as we speak. The movie probably doesn’t have more lives left and will soon begin a new phase of its journey when itdebuts on home video this week. Produced ona reported budget of $15 million,Until Dawnmarks a return to horror for directorDavid F. Sandberg, who spent the last few years of his life working on two DC Extended Universe films — the surprisingly enjoyableShazam!, and its already forgotten sequel,Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
Prior to his stint in the superhero genre, Sandberg was recognized as one of the brightest voices in horror. He broke out with several self-produced short films that he released on YouTube, and was given his first studio gig around a decade ago. His debut feature,Lights Out, grossed over $150 million worldwide against a reported budget of $5 million. His sophomore feature,Annabelle: Creation, generated more than $300 million worldwide — about as much asSinners— against a reported budget of $15 million.
Mainstream Horror Is Overdue for a Resurgence
Butthe marketplace has evolved drastically since then, and mainstream horror isn’t the sure bet that it used to be. In fact, several franchise films —The First Omen,Wolf Man,The Exorcist: Believer— have underperformed in recent months. But withBloodlinesbreaking the sorry streak and a host of high-profile titles —Predator: Badlands,M3GAN 2.0,28 Years Later,The Conjuring: Last Rites, and theI Know What You Did Last Summerreboot — around the corner, it seems like the narrative around horror is poised to turn around.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Until Dawn
