It was a good first week for Freaky, the horror film about body-swapping with a serial killer. Produced by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, the film stars Kathryn Newton and Vince Vaughn as a high school girl and a twisted serial killer respectively. In a Freaky Friday style twist, however, the two of them accidentally switch bodies, and now the race is on to figure out how to switch back and prevent him from escaping justice. The premise alone made for good marketing, and it seems to have paid off, with the film claiming the top spot for its box office debut.
The film made $3.7m on its opening weekend, an impressive start considering both the ongoing pandemic and it being a horror film, which are generally more niche in appeal. Overseas the film pulled in $1.9 million so far. While those kinds of numbers would be disastrous for the latest Marvel blockbuster, it could be very good news for the more modest Freaky. According to analyst David A. Gross, who runs a movie consulting firm, the film will be very profitable. “With the pandemic surging and additional U.S. theaters closing, this is a good opening.”
Jim Orr, Universal's President of Domestic Distribution thinks the film will have a lengthy run in theaters due to its blend of comedy and horror. “It’ll have much longer legs than the horror genre might normally produce. Christopher Landon has an amazing touch for these films, he can blend horror and comedy like no other.” This tracks with Universal's overall pandemic strategy, which has been to continue releasing films, but using smaller and less expensive titles that have a better chance of being profitable under the circumstances. Big films like F9 and Jurassic Park: Dominion are being held back, but in the meantime films like Freaky can still go out and make a respectable earning with their more limited budgets.
Despite the recent surge in Coronavirus cases across the country, theaters are still hoping to maintain a steady stream of releases to keep their business afloat. While some have challenged whether this might be a risk to public health, even with the lowered maximum viewers per theater. Regardless, theaters are continuing to host releases, but it may be a while before anything big returns to the silver screen. As David Gross admits: “Can the market support a blockbuster? Not yet.”
Source: Variety