Posts

Buy / Wait / Rent: October 2019 Blu-Ray Releases

/0 Comments/in , , /by

We sift through the new release heap so you don’t have to!

Welcome to Horror News Network’s Buy / Wait / Rent, a monthly article devoted to the most highly-anticipated horror releases on blu-ray. Here you will find the best home video releases of each month, along with our opinion on whether each film is a must-own on the first day of release, something you should wait to buy until it goes on sale, or something you’re better off renting for a one-time watch. And now, on to the notable new releases of October 2019! read more

‘Crawl’ Stays Afloat at Weekend Box Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

Crawl took advantage of the lack of head-to-head competition this weekend to hover near the surface and finished in fourth place with an estimated $6 million at the weekend box office.

Crawl’s take dropped a respectable 50%, and the alligator starring jump scare factory only slipped once place, down from its debut in third place last weekend.  The Alexandre Aja film also has managed to play well with audiences over the course of the week, and the total box office sum is already over $23 million in the United States, with an additional $9.9 million from overseas markets (with Indonesia and Malaysia leading the way).  Crawl should continue to bank horror dollars until August, (when four horror films are slated to be released) and it has an outside chance of hitting $40 million domestically. read more

‘Crawl’ Swims Away With Third Place at Weekend Box Office

/0 Comments/in /by

Alexandre Aja’s creature feature Crawl latched onto third place at the box office this weekend with an estimated total of $12 million, becoming one of the many horror films this summer to snag a high spot on the countdown despite underwhelming returns.

Paramount’s Crawl entered a crowded swimming pool this weekend with Annabelle Comes Home and Midsommar (both continuing to make decent, but not great money at the box office), and further divided the amount spent on individual horror films.  Many industry insiders predicted a bigger debut from Aja’s alligator rampage, but the top heavy summer box office of 2019 struck again, siphoning the majority of the funds into only two releases (Spider-Man: Far From Home and Toy Story 4).  While super-hero stories and family-friendly films are not direct competition for horror films, it appears that they are limiting the amount spent on them, with parents and baby-sitters deciding to bring children to “sure things” rather than finding entertainment for themselves at the cineplex. read more

‘Annabelle Comes Home’ Takes Fourth, ‘Midsommar’ Shines Bright in Sixth Place at Weekend Box Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

With a glut of horror releases (let alone all of the releases) this summer, it has been hard for any film to sustain momentum at the box office.  This weekend was no different with a film predicted to dominate the box office (Annabelle Comes Homes) falling short of expectations and a new entry (Midsommar) further adding to the logjam at your local cinema.

WB’s Annabelle Comes Home dropped into fourth place with an estimated $9.8 million, dipping  an expected 52% in its second weekend. The film’s domestic total now stands at $50 million, which is certainly good for any horror film, but the figure is below Conjuringverse expectations.  Annabelle Comes Home currently ranks third in the Annabelle series, $34 million out of second place. Internationally, the film is performing better and added over $20 million overseas for a total of $85 million, which equates to a worldwide total of $135 million.  Again, these numbers are admirable for a horror film, but with increased horror competition next week, expect Annabelle Comes Home to remain in 3rd place in what has become the most profitable series of horror films of all time (and be sure to check out our review right here). read more

‘Annabelle Comes Home’ Takes Second Place at Weekend Box Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

Another week, another second place finish for a horror film at the weekend box office.  Just like last week’s Child Play, Annabelle Comes Home nabbed second place with an estimated $20.3 million.

Annabelle Comes Home opened on Tuesday night with shows starting at 5:00 p.m., and then opened wide on Wednesday, so the box office take is somewhat deceiving, although it did perform worse than either of the two previous Annabelle films.  The latest addition to the Conjuringverse currently sits at $31.2 million (with an additional $21.1 from foreign markets). read more

‘Annabelle Comes Home’: The Horror News Network Review

/0 Comments/in , /by

No horror franchise in the last decade has been as profitable as James Wan’s The Conjuring empire.  Ever since The Conjuring was released in 2013, anything associated with the ever-expanding tales from the files of renowned ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren have been a license to print money, accounting for over $1.5 billion in worldwide sales.

And if the Conjuring-verse has an MVP, it is undoubtedly the porcelain-faced devil-doll known as Annabelle.  Ever since she was introduced in a vignette at the start of the original Conjuring film, it was pretty clear that she would go on to bigger and better things.  With three films to her name, she is one of the most easily recognizable faces of the horror genre for a whole generation of fans whose first cinematic scares came at her expense. read more

‘Child’s Play’ Finishes in Second Place at Weekend Box Office

/0 Comments/in , /by

Child’s Play (2019) finished second at the box office this weekend, making an estimated total of $14 million.  While finishing in second is never a bad thing at the summer box office, it’s not terrific when your opening total is $104 million less than the top spot (which was Toy Story 4, a much kinder and gentler breed of toy).

Many in the industry predicted a slightly higher opening for Child’s Play, especially with the film currently sitting at a healthy 60% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.  Viewers were less impressed with the return of Chucky, as the film only scored a C+ from ticket buyers surveyed by opening night polling service, Cinemascore.  read more

Horror News Network’s Summer 2019 Movie Preview Guide

/0 Comments/in , /by

After a rather lackluster spring, studios are ready to start churning out horror films for the starving, sweating masses this summer.  At least eight films in the horror genre are slated for release in June, July, and August this year (a slight increase from year’s past) in hopes that one or two can capture the attention of movie-goers who are already worn out by sequels and mega-budget action and sci-fi epics.

Horror fans have a lot to choose from this summer; everything from classic 1980’s remakes (Child’s Play), another entry from the ever-popular Conjurverse (Annabelle Comes Home), giant critters with a taste for human flesh (Crawl, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged), Ari Aster’s creepy follow-up to last year’s critical smash Hereditary (Midsommar), and a host of supernatural and survival horror originals. read more

Second Trailer for ‘Annabelle Comes Home’ Unleashes Trouble at the Warren’s House

/0 Comments/in , /by

The second trailer for the sixth entry in New Line’s perennial money making Conjuring series features more hijinks than can be imagined at the Warren’s world famous museum.  The ring leader is naturally everyone’s favorite doll Annabelle, who not only causes enough trouble for one horror film, but brings along a host of demonic friends to terrorize Ed and Lorraine’s daughter (and baby sitters) while the couple is away on official ghost business.

Annabelle Comes Home’s Gary Dauberman makes his directorial debut after writing four out of the six films in the series, including the original Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, and Annabelle Comes Home (as well as a Stephen King’s It). The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Fermiga (reprising the roles that started the entire franchise) as well Steve Coulter (also returning to the series as Father Gordon) and newcomers Mckenna Grace as Judy Warren (last seen in Netflix’s smash hit The Haunting of Hill House as young Theo),  Madison Iseman (Jumanji, Goosebumps 2), and Katie Sarife (Youth and Consequences). read more

‘Annabelle Comes Home’ Trailer Features The Demonic Doll and Some of Her New Friends

/0 Comments/in , /by

The latest entry in The Conjuring franchise features not only the MVP of the group, that porcelain-faced rascal Annabelle, but a host of new and old friends in Gary Dauberman’s directing debut, Annabelle Comes Home.

The first trailer for the sixth entry in New Line’s cash cow puts the focus directly on the Warren’s world famous museum and many of the denizens contained within.  Annabelle, as the ring leader, stirs up the rest of those haunted and demonic critters and it appears that “all Hell breaks loose” while Ed and Lorraine are away investigating a case (and when will those baby sitters ever learn to stop snooping around that house). read more