The latest horror film from director Leigh Whannell, “Wolf Man,” hit theaters over the weekend but failed to meet box office expectations. The movie re-imagined the classic Universal Monster and debuted at number three with just $10.5 million. Industry analysts had predicted the film would easily top the charts with around $20 million.
Instead, it fell behind Sony’s comedy “One of Them Days” ($11.6 million) and Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King ($11.5 million), which has been in theaters since Christmas. Critics were mixed on the film, but audiences gave it a very poor C CinemaScore and a 58% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This suggests that word of mouth will likely be negative and could lead to a steep decline in ticket sales next weekend.
The movie’s international numbers were underwhelming, making just $4.8 million overseas for a global opening total of $15.3 million. With a $25 million budget, not including marketing costs, the low-cost Blumhouse production may struggle to profit.
Box office letdown for Wolf Man
“Wolf Man” centers on a family attacked by a strange creature in the remote wilderness of Oregon. Soon after, the father begins acting bizarrely. The film’s marketing strategy, which withheld showing the monster until very late, and poor word of mouth have contributed to its box office struggles.
Robert Eggers’ latest film added another $4.3 million over the weekend, bringing its global total to $156.4 million. With a $50 million budget, it’s proving to be a major win for Focus Features. In non-horror news, Disney’s “Encanto” surpassed $1 billion globally over the weekend.
Originally intended for a Disney+ release, the animated film’s theatrical success is a victory for fans of the big screen experience. Looking ahead, horror fans can anticipate Steven Soderbergh’s unique supernatural flick arriving this upcoming weekend alongside Mel Gibson’s thriller Flight Risk. The month will close with director Drew Hancock’s buzzworthy sci-fi film, starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, on January 31.