The Boogeyman movie has moved to the theaters from Hulu ahead of its release. Rob Savage is directing the upcoming horror adaptation of Stephen King’s 1978 short story of the same name from a screenplay by Scott Beck and Mark Heyman. Starring Madison Hu, Vivien Lyra Blair, Sophie Thatcher, David Dastmalchian, Chris Messina, and Jaynie Verdin, The Boogeyman follows two siblings as they are haunted by an ominous entity in their house after the tragic death of their mother, while their bereaved father remains oblivious of the supernatural happenings at play.
Now, a new report by The Hollywood Reporter notes that 20th Century Studios will release Savage’s The Boogeyman movie theatrically in the United States on June 2, 2023, overturning the decision that the movie would go straight to streaming on Hulu. The move comes after the film tested strongly during its initial screenings in December, with King also giving his approval for the adaptation.
Why Some Horror Movies Are Moving Away From Streaming
During COVID-19, when all theaters across the globe were mostly closed down, horror movies found their audiences on streaming platforms and became wildly popular. But with the gradual transition to normalcy, cinemas across the world are opening up with moviegoers slowly returning to catch hyped movies in theaters. However, cinema attendance remains low, with Regal chain owner Cineworld voicing concerns that audience numbers won’t be back to the pre-pandemic levels until 2025, at least for big-budget movies. Considering this, running blockbusters in cinemas continue to be an economic risk, although, quite the opposite trend has been observed for the horror genre – where modest-budget movies are attracting the younger demographic to cinemas in droves.
While the continuing box office success of Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN, which has a sequel being fast-tracked, is one case in point, what inspires more confidence about the commercial performance of The Boogeyman under its new release format is the example of Smile. The Parker Finn psychological horror film starring Sosie Bacon was originally going to premiere on Paramount+. The strong reactions to the test screenings prompted Paramount to move the film to cinemas, where Smile grossed a whopping $216 million against a $17 million budget, an economic feat that would have, otherwise, been unattainable in the streaming world. Zach Cregger’s Barbarian offers a similar precedent. Although the movie was originally meant to open in cinemas, persistent rescheduling sparked jitters about the movie potentially shifting to Hulu. Yet, Disney maintained a theatrical window for Barbarian, and the plan proved fruitful as the movie ended up grossing $45 million worldwide against a $4.5 million budget.
One reason why horror movies seem to be doing so well after their move from streaming to the cinema is that the genre is designed for a theatrical experience. Filmmakers want their audiences to live the scares of their work with scores of others in a full-house theater, as it is the company and reactions of others that really bring the horror to life. What’s more, is that many new horror movies are well-made original stories, so there is that added factor of curiosity that pulls viewers to theaters when the countless remakes, spin-offs, sequels, and follow-ups cannot. That said, The Boogeyman‘s theatrical release does increase anticipation for the MPAA-rated Stephen King adaptation. Savage’s creative filmmaking in Host and Dashcam has already proven that he is unfazed by the scale of his work, so it will undoubtedly be exciting to see how he creates magic on the big screen for the first time.
Source: THR