Horror at the Box Office – January thru April 2020

Is anyone else yearning for the day to once again watch a horror movie in an actual theater?  The spring movie season of 2020 (officially March 6 thru April 30) was among the casualties, if not fatalities, brought on by the arrival of the COVID-19 virus.  And while no genre was spared, the year-to-date box office report card for HORROR shows it had a surprisingly strong presence, both domestically at the North American box office, as well as overseas, before…well, you know.

As we hope for something resembling a summer movie season to come our way sooner than later, and continue to count down the days to the (hopefully!) October 16 release date of Halloween Kills, the following is a comprehensive year-to-date listing of horror’s top performers at the box office (as well as IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings for each).  How many have you seen?

As an added bonus, I’ve included a film that was released May 1, during the pandemic, that is kicking some unexpected life into the otherwise dormant box office.  Scroll down to see what the film is and how it’s made its money so far.

*Note:  U.S. dollars for all films and listed in order of worldwide ranking.

1. THE INVISIBLE MAN

Release Date:  February 28, 2020

Production Budget:  $ 7 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $64.9 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020: #9

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $58 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $122.9 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #5

Rabbit in Red’s Review here!  

IMDB Rating:  7.1/10

RT Rating:  91%

RT Audience Score:  88%

2. THE GRUDGE

Release Date:  January 3, 2020

Production Budget:  $10 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $21.2 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #21

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $28.3 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $49.5 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #8

IMDB Rating:  4.2/10

RT Rating:  20%

RT Audience Score:  23%

3. FANTASY ISLAND

Release Date:  February 14, 2020

Production Budget:  $7 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $26.4 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #18

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $20.9 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $47.3 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #9

IMDB Rating:  4.8/10

RT Rating:  8%

RT Audience Score:  48%

4. UNDERWATER

Release Date:  January 10, 2020

Production Budget:  N.A.

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $17.3 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #23

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $23.6 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $40.9 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #10

IMDB Rating:  5.8/10

RT Rating:  48%

RT Audience Score:  60%

5. GRETEL & HANSEL

Release Date:  January 31, 2020

Production Budget:  N.A.

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $15.4 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #25

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $5.9 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $21.3 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #14

IMDB Rating:  5.3/10

RT Rating:  65%

RT Audience Score:  23%

6. BRAHMS: THE BOY II

Release Date:  February 21, 2020

Production Budget:  $10 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $12.6 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #29

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $7.7 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $20.3 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #15

IMDB Rating:  4.5/10

RT Rating:  10%

RT Audience Score:  44%

7. THE TURNING

Release Date:  January 24, 2020

Production Budget:  $14 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $15.5 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #24

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $3.1 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $18.6 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #16

IMDB Rating:  3.8/10

RT Rating:  12%

RT Audience Score:  15%

8. THE HUNT

Release Date:  March 13, 2020

Production Budget:  $14 million

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $5.8 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #39

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $700,000

Total Worldwide Gross:  $6.5 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #20

IMDB Rating:  6.4/10

RT Rating:  56%

RT Audience Score:  66%

9. THE LODGE

Release Date:  February 7, 2020

Production Budget:  N.A.

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $1.7 million

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #50

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $1 million

Total Worldwide Gross:  $2.7 million

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  #26

IMDB Rating:  6.1/10

RT Rating:  74%

RT Audience Score:  51%

10. COLOR OUT OF SPACE

Release Date:  January 24, 2020

Production Budget:  N.A.

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $766,000

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #68

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $173,000

Total Worldwide Gross:  $939,000

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  N.A.

IMDB Rating:  6.2/10

RT Rating:  86%

RT Audience Score:  82%

      BONUS:  THE WRETCHED (Currently #11)

Release Date:  May 1, 2020

Production Budget:  N.A.

Year-to-date North American Gross:  $211,957

Year-to-date North American ranking among all films released in 2020:  #91

Year-to-date Overseas Gross:  $0

Total Worldwide Gross:  $211,957

Year-to-date Worldwide ranking among all films released in 2020:  N.A.

IMDB Rating:  5.8/10

RT Rating:  75%

RT Audience Score:  N.A.

The Wretched, written and directed by Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce, is about a teenage boy sent to live with his father (and dad’s new girlfriend), who makes a creepy discovery in both the nearby woods AND with the family next door.

So what is the secret to the film’s box office success during a time when theaters are completely off-limits to moviegoers?  The Wretched has gone old-school by being released in DRIVE-INS!  Beginning on May 1, the official first day of not only the month but also what was supposed to be the summer movie season, the horror movie was released to 11 drive-ins in the U.S. and as of May 15 has increased that screen count to 21.

Leave it to the horror genre to find a way to survive during a pandemic.  LONG LIVE HORROR!

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