Legendary horror series returns to streaming services

On the other hand, the reintroduction of “The Exorcist” to theaters did not do as well as those involved would have hoped it would.

It is possible that the realization that the first installment of the “Exorcist” franchise, which was directed by William Friedkin, is utterly unrivaled and a one-of-a-kind jewel of the purest horror cinema was the impetus for the franchise’s peculiar trajectory. Although it attempted to suggest a coherent continuation, the second part of it ended up producing a collection of pictures that were incoherent, despite the fact that Linda Blair was present. This was despite the fact that it attempted to divert the attention of the audience.

We can argue the exact opposite about “The Exorcist III,” which is a marvel directed by William Peter Blatty, who was also the screenwriter for the first film and the owner of visuals that are just as strong and obscene as the first. The absence of control is demonstrated by the insubstantial pair of films known as “The Exorcist: The Beginning” and its remake, which is referred to as “The Forbidden Version.” In addition, there was a phenomenal television series that served as a direct sequel to the picture that was originally released. In recent times, David Gordon Green, who was already riding the popularity of his late ‘Halloween’ sequels, directed ‘The Exorcist: Believer,’ which is now available to watch on SkyShowtime and Movistar Plus+.

As in his trilogy of ‘Halloween’ sequels, Gordon Green presents us with a continuation many years after the original film and that has an actress who reprises her original role (Ellen Burstyn giving life again to Regan’s mother), to tell the story of two young friends who show the classic signs of demonic possession, which will force the father of one of them to investigate what it could be.

It is a film that only made thirty million dollars, which it rapidly recovered, but it was not enough because Universal had spent four hundred million dollars to purchase the rights to the film. The box office did not finish working. On the other hand, the reviews from critics were quite negative, and as of right now, the film has only a score of 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. In a piece that he wrote about it, Jorge Loser, one of our colleagues, stated that “it is no better than any other exploit from the original, without all the impact elements that make them fun.” As a result, now that it is available on streaming services, we are able to distinguish between an unavoidable catastrophe and a decent sequel.

The horror genre is not only one of the oldest in the film industry, but it is also one of the most lucrative in terms of the potential for profitability at the box office. In the 2020s, it has achieved a great deal of popularity despite the fact that it is typically made on smaller costs in comparison to other types of movies. In 2024, this reputation, which appeared to be unaffected by any external factors, has unfortunately been severely damaged.

The year has not been kind to horror films, which are performing poorly at the box office in 2024 for the most part. Even without taking into account the unfavorable reviews, this is occurring in the midst of a dearth of originality and fresh ideas within the genre. The fact that horror films are making so little money has become the most terrifying aspect of the genre, which is now experiencing the same tiredness that was reportedly affecting other kinds of films from the beginning.

The year 2022 saw the beginning of the film industry’s genuine recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic, with a number of films achieving significant financial success at the box office. During this same time period, trends were beginning to emerge in which highly anticipated blockbusters and films that were comparable were experiencing significantly smaller box office hauls. The Rock’s vehicle, Black Adam, which was marketed as a type of rescuer to the lamentable DC Extended Universe, is perhaps the most prominent example of this phenomenon. At the end of the day, the disappointment that it experienced at the box office was probably the most significant factor that led to the announcement of James Gunn’s next DC Universe relaunch. Major achievements, particularly in the horror genre, were achieved despite the fact that the reaction was not particularly impressive.

Movies like Smile provided audiences with original scares in a way that had never been seen before. As a result of the movie’s viral appeal, it made more than two hundred million dollars in revenue outside of its production budget all over the world. In spite of having a budget of only one million dollars, the filthy slasher film X managed to make more than a tidy profit, raking in fifteen million dollars. Even the horror franchise film Halloween Ends, which was largely considered to be a failure, managed to make more than $100 million on a production budget of $33 million USD. These patterns persisted until the year 2023, a time when the superhero genre and huge blockbuster films were experiencing a great deal of difficulty simultaneously. On the other hand, The Flash and particularly Marvel Studios’ flicks Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels were big financial failures. The only films in the genre that were successful were Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

The films Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Fast X, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny did not bring in a significant amount of money, despite the fact that the former received a lot of positive reviews. Despite these low box office figures, there were several successes of horror movies, with both original and franchise horror producing multiple hits. These achievements were a welcome relief. Of these, M3GAN stood out as the most remarkable because it began the year with memes that made money. Evil Dead Arise was yet another fantastic installment in that series, and The Nun 2 extended the streak of movie office success that James Wan’s Conjuring Universe had been experiencing.

Five Nights at Freddy’s, an adaptation of the survival horror video game, was able to make a significant amount of money at the box office, despite receiving a number of reviews that were not particularly positive and being perceived by the majority of people as being not even remotely frightening. It seemed as though horror was the genre that a studio would turn to in order to make a quick buck, despite the fact that there were a few failures here and there. It appears that the aforementioned ghost story is no longer able to frighten a significant number of clients.

Despite the fact that there are a few big hits, the majority of movies in 2024 are not exactly doing well at the box office. The sequel to Dune, titled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has been a huge hit, and it is closely following in its footsteps. In addition to action movies like “The Beekeeper” and “Monkey Man,” which have both gone on to become profitable, even the politically charged Civil War is on the verge of becoming profitable. On the other hand, the once-venerable horror genre, which appeared to be ready to produce a success every time, has, for the most part, been struggling to make an effect. The first film of the year was Night Swim, which grossed more than $50 million although only had a budget of $15 million USD. This was a respectable success considering the fact that the movie received a number of unfavorable reviews; yet, the critiques appeared to slow it down at the box office.

The film Imaginary received the same negative reviews, and it made around twice as much as its budget of $10-13 million USD. Immaculate, on the other hand, received a more favorable review than those two films, despite the fact that it only managed to generate $22 million USD in revenue in comparison to its entire budget of $9 million. Since that time, the genre has only continued to see a downward spiral of events. Many people were taken aback by the fact that The First Omen garnered great reviews; nonetheless, the film has not even twice its budget of thirty million dollars in the United States. Only now is the vampire movie Abigail paying back its production costs, despite the fact that there is very little competition in the market. This is the most recent example of a box office run of this type. When compared to how unbeatable the genre was over the course of the previous two years, this is a day in the park.

The horror comedy/horror action hybrids Lisa Frankenstein and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire did not do particularly well, despite the fact that the latter was a part of the original Ghostbusters franchise. This is even more perplexing when one considers that the majority of the films have budgets that are quite low, as these are the kinds of films that ought to readily generate at least a trace amount of profit. The lack of viewership, on the other hand, is indicative of a rising dissatisfaction with horror, which is quite understandable considering the recurring themes that have been observed over the course of the past several years.

Legendary horror series returns to streaming services

By nr39r

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