D.O.A. at the Box Office – The Year so Far

For most movies already released in 2024, opening weekend has been on par with the opening of a deep wound.  Including this past weekend (May 31 to June 2), not since the weekend of March 29 have the total grosses of the Top 10 films surpassed $100 million at the North American box office.  In 2023, between March 31 and June 4, all but three weekends surpassed that $100 million threshold.  

Alas, the horror genre has not been spared from this disappointing bleed out at the box office.

So why the sudden decline at the box office?  Before entertaining some possible reasons, for the distinct purpose of making a point, the following is a listing of horror movies released between the same period in 2024 and 2023, and specifically their opening weekend grosses.  As you’re about to discover, the difference between the current and last year is somewhat unsettling. 

2024 – Movie (Release Date) – Opening Weekend Gross / # of Theatres

1. The Strangers:  Chapter 1 (May 17) – $11,825,058 / 2,856
2. Night Swim (January 5) – $11,797,155 / 3,257
3. Abigail (April 19) – $10,297,110 / 3,393
4. Imaginary (March 8) – $9,912,713 / 3,118
5. The First Omen (April 5) – $8,353,710 / 3,375
6. Tarot (May 3) – $6,503,012 / 3,104
7. Immaculate (March 22) – $5,338,921 / 2,362
8. Lisa Frankenstein (February 9) – $3,695,785 / 3,144

2023 – Movie (Release Date) – Opening Weekend Gross / # of Theatres

1. Scream VI (March 10) – $44,447,270 / 3,675
2. M3GAN (January 6) – $30,429,860 / 3,509
3. Evil Dead Rise (April 21) – $24,504,315 / 3,402
4. Cocaine Bear (February 24) – $23,260,790 / 3,534
5. Knock at the Cabin (February 3) – $14,127,170 / 3,643
6. The Boogeyman (June 2) – $12,356,486 / 3,205
7. The Pope’s Exorcist (April 14) – $9,006,368 / 3,178
8. Renfield (April 14) – $8,026,475 / 3,375

Let’s break it down.  

• The horror film so far with the highest grossing opening weekend in 2024, The Strangers: Chapter 1, would land at #7 had it been released in 2023.  
• In 2023, four films had opening weekend grosses of at least $20 million; to date, NONE of the movies released in 2024 have amassed even close to that amount in their opening weekend. 
• Although perhaps more high-profile in 2023, two franchise entries were released in both 2024 and 2023; however, by comparison, opening weekend grosses for Scream VI and Evil Dead Rise slaughtered those for The Strangers:  Chapter 1 and The First Omen.
• Abigail had an audience rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the same rating for M3GAN was a lower 78%, and yet M3GAN’s opening weekend gross was almost triple that of Abigail.  Both films had similar marketing campaigns, too. 

Perhaps inflation, the increased cost of living, and resulting financial insecurity for many are keeping movie audiences at home and out of theaters.  After all, a night out, hell, even an afternoon matinee, can add up quickly, what with the cost of admission and then a possible hemorrhaging of money at the concessions counter, not to mention the pre-theater expense of things like parking, or transportation, and/or a babysitter.  

And maybe streaming movies, legally or otherwise, is becoming more of a preference for those who no longer feel the deep need to see a film on opening weekend and would rather wait a few weeks so that they could watch a movie in the comfort of their home.

A final factor to consider in horror’s lackluster opening weekend performance so far in 2024 may involve the absence of movies that fall into “spoiler alert / plot twist” territory.  For example, it’s been imperative for me to watch each film in the Scream franchise as close to opening weekend as possible, for fear of having Ghostface’s identity and/or the name of a murdered legacy character leaked beforehand, which if others are thinking and doing the same, would explain Scream VI’s $44.5 million opening weekend in 2023.  Had the team responsible for marketing 2024’s Abigail opted to not reveal the title character’s movie-defining secret in its trailers and poster, perhaps more interest in seeing the movie on opening weekend would have been generated, with the resulting box office surpassing its somewhat anemic actual $10.3 million opening weekend haul.  

While the current lethargic state of the box office is concerning, it’s far from being a final-nail-in-the-coffin scenario, I reckon, especially for fans of horror; however, should this trend not change for the genre by the turn-around time of the Halloween movie season, what follows could be a real nailbiter for the movie industry in general, and for moviegoers, too. 

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