New Stephen King Horror Movie’s Box Office Is His Best In 4 Years Since The Shining’s Sequel

The Boogeyman has earned the highest opening weekend for a Stephen King movie in years. Based on the King short story of the same name, the Rob Savage movie follows a family who is tormented by a mysterious entity who lurks in the darkness of their home and targets those in the midst of grief and despair. Led by Yellowjackets‘ Sophie Thatcher, Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s Vivien Lyra Blair and Birds of Prey‘s Chris Messina, The Boogeyman has scored mixed reviews, but it may not have a negative effect on its box office.

Per Deadline, The Boogeyman has opened somewhat below its original projections of between $15-17 million, with its three-day projections now set at $11.5 million thanks to the overwhelming attention being received by its box office competition Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Even with the lower opening, this still provides the movie with the best opening weekend for a Stephen King project since the Shining sequel Doctor Sleep earned a $14.1 million opening in late 2019.

What’s Stephen King’s Next Box Office Hit?

Part of the reason that The Boogeyman‘s lukewarm box office is still his best in years is that some of the most prominent recent King projects haven’t even opened in theaters. The Boogeyman‘s theatrical competition in the 2020s has been limited to the largely derided Firestarter and Children of the Corn remakes, whereas streaming and television have still found successes based on his works. This includes the 2022 Netflix movie Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, which didn’t have a theatrical release, and HBO’s hit 2020 miniseries The Outsider.

Though it holds the top spot thus far, there are other Stephen King franchise movies coming to theaters that could very well make more of a splash in the near future than The Boogeyman. For instance, while the promised new Salem’s Lot movie continues to be delayed, it may have a shot at the brass ring when it finally lands, presuming it doesn’t go directly to streaming. That movie, which was directed by Annabelle Comes Home‘s Gary Dauberman, stars Top Gun: Maverick‘s Lewis Pullman with Alfre Woodard and Spencer Treat Clark.

There are much more secure successes in the future as well, including the next King adaptation from Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan, the Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston-starring The Life of Chuck. Considering the talent behind it, and Flanagan’s critical success with King’s works, it seems likely to be the next project to unseat The Boogeyman, but given the preponderance of King adaptations in the works, the 2020s could be seeing an upswing in King’s theatrical prospects very soon.

Source: Deadline