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- "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is the latest horror movie to exceed expectations at the box office, proving the genre’s consistency in an industry otherwise dominated by Disney.
- The movie earned $21 million domestically over the weekend and was produced for $28 million.
- It follows a string of horror hits in recent years, such as "It," "Get Out," and "A Quiet Place."
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Disney is carrying the box office on its shoulders this year with blockbusters like "Avengers: Endgame" and "The Lion King," but the horror genre has broken through as well.
"Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" is the latest horror hit in an industry otherwise dominated by the Mouse House. The movie, based on the children’s horror short stories, earned $21 million at the domestic box office in its debut over the weekend, and was produced for $28 million.
It even gave the "Hobbs and Shaw" a run for its money. The "Fast and Furious" spin-off earned $25 million in its second weekend, narrowly holding off "Scary Stories" for the top spot at the US box office.
"Scary Stories," produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by André Øvredal, follows a string of horror movies in recent years that prove the genre is one of the most consistent at the box office.
Jordan Peele’s "Us" earned the biggest opening at the box office of any original horror movie ever in March (before inflation). It passed last year’s "A Quiet Place" in that regard, another surprise hit that ultimately $340 million worldwide off of a $17 million production budget.
Peele’s directorial debut, "Get Out," earned $255 million in 2017 and was made for $4.5 million.
Later that year, the Stephen King adaptation "It" put up blockbuster-sized numbers with $700 million globally. The sequel, "It: Chapter Two," comes to theaters next month and is expected to also be huge. In its long-range forecast, Boxoffice.com projected "It: Chapter Two" to make $136 million over its opening weekend, more than the $123 million the first movie made.
The alligator horror movie "Crawl," which debuted last month, has also exceeded expectations, and made nearly $60 million worldwide off of a $13.5 million budget.
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See Also:
- 10 Disney animated movies that did better than ‘The Lion King’ remake at the US box office
- Disney endured another box-office flop from Fox with ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’
- ‘Dark Phoenix’ was a major flop and hurt Disney at the box office, but the ‘X-Men’ franchise should bounce back under Marvel
SEE ALSO: 10 Disney animated movies that did better ‘The Lion King’ remake at the US box office
Source: Business Insider – tclark@businessinsider.com (Travis Clark)