'The Invitation' Tries to Scare Up Audiences This Weekend
by EG
It's not October yet, but the vampire thriller The Invitation could get the scary Halloween season started early when it hits theaters this weekend. The low-budget movie is the front-runner in a week that probably isn't going to see any big break-out new releases. Last week's top movie, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, is the top contender for second place. Read on for details.
Via Box Office Mojo.
After a 19% increase in the box office last weekend, which was the first upswing after five weeks of decline, the numbers will drop again this weekend which will likely be the lowest grossing of the past six months. It’s likely that no film will pass $10 million, a statistic we haven’t seen since May 2021, but unfortunately may see a few more times over the next month and a half. There are three new wide releases this weekend, all with potential, but none are likely to draw a huge audience as the box office drought continues.
Sony’s vampire film The Invitation will be the biggest of the new releases and could beat out the holdovers to hit number one, and it also has the largest launch with 3,000 theaters. Nathalie Emmanuel stars as a young American woman who discovers a long-lost relative in England through a DNA test. He invites her to an extravagant wedding in the British country, but what begins as an exciting and romantic experience soon turns into a horrifying nightmare. Jessica M. Thompson, who wrote and directed the acclaimed indie The Light of the Moon, directs from a script she co-wrote with Blair Butler. No reviews are in as of yet. Don’t expect a hit here, but the film should do okay relative to its $10 million budget.
The same cannot be said for the other high profile release of the weekend. Three Thousand Years of Longing is the latest from director George Miller and his first film since Mad Max: Fury Road, but despite the hype from Miller’s fans, there will be few takers for the $60 million budgeted film which is getting a North American release from United Artists. Opening in 2,436 theaters, the Istanbul-set film stars Tilda Swinton as an academic who meets a Djinn (played by Idris Elba), and the film spans millennia as the Djinn weaves tales of empires past. The film premiered at Cannes and received a six-minute standing ovation, but reviews since then have been mixed and it currently stands at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. Considering the out-there film isn’t a typical crowd-pleasing fantasy adventure and has a more niche appeal, the middling reception could hurt the box-office prospects. It may not even make the top five, but it could see stronger numbers overseas.
Also opening semi-wide is the John Boyega-starring Breaking, debuting in 902 theaters via Bleecker Street. The film tells the true story of Brian Brown-Easley, a veteran from the Marine Corps who hit hard times and robbed a bank out of desperation, and he used the robbery as an opportunity to create awareness towards the difficulties of veterans in America. It’s been well-received (78% on Rotten Tomatoes) since it played in competition at Sundance (then under its original title 892), with comparisons made to Dog Day Afternoon. Breaking is one of the final roles for late actor Michael K. Williams.
Last week’s big winner Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero will likely be the biggest of the holdovers, and it’s a good bet for second place overall though may take the top spot again.
Get the rest of the story at Box Office Mojo.