The prequel decimated expectations, with earlier tracking suggesting an opening in the $40 million range. Even that would have made it by far the biggest opening weekend for a horror movie this year. More encouraging is the fact that “Day One” beat the openings of both 2018’s “A Quiet Place” ($50.2 million opening, $340.9 million worldwide) and 2021’s “A Quiet Place: Part II” ($47.5 million opening, $297.3 million worldwide). Depending on how things shake out, this prequel could end up topping the previous two installments globally. Even if it falls short of that mark, against a reported $67 million budget, this film is well on its way to profitability already.
2022 saw several surprising breakout horror hits, including Park Finn’s “Smile” ($217 million), “Scream” ($138 million), and “The Black Phone” ($161 million). 2023 similarly delivered the goods, with “Saw X” ($112 million), “Evil Dead Rise” ($147 million), “Scream VI” ($169 million), “M3GAN,” ($180 million), “Insidious: The Red Door” ($189 million), and the blockbuster that was “Five Nights at Freddy’s” ($293 million) all delivering the goods in theaters.
Unfortunately, we’ve yet to see that pattern continue this year. Yes, we’ve had some qualified successes, such as “Late Night with the Devil” and “Immaculate,” but those were hits relative to their small budgets and muted expectations. We hadn’t seen any franchise hits breakout and, more importantly, no originals emerged to deliver blockbuster grosses. Fortunately, the back half of the year has more promising titles including M. Night Shyamalan’s new original thriller “Trap” and “Alien: Romulus.” With any luck, horror’s good run isn’t over, it was just briefly interrupted
“A Quiet Place: Day One” is in theaters now.
