The Strangers: Chapter 1 Is A Modest Box Office Hit - What Does That Mean For The Trilogy?

Not to sound like a broken record but it was yet another brutal weekend at the box office as May rolls right along. Director John Krasinski's big-budget, family-friendly flick "IF" topped the charts with a worse-than-expected opening. Theaters are desperate for a breakout hit given the relatively lackluster performances of other films like "The Fall Guy" in the early going. But, as has been the case so many times in the pandemic era, horror came to the rescue — sort of. Lionsgate's "The Strangers: Chapter 1" had a solid debut, but not so much that it can make up for what was lacking elsewhere. It was also an iffy start for a film that is launching an entire trilogy.

Director Renny Harlin's new take on "The Strangers" (the first part of it anyway) opened to an estimated $12 million domestically, placing at number three on the charts behind "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" ($26 million), and "IF" ($35 million). Harlin's horror flick did so on less than 2,900 screens, whereas "IF" and "Apes" were both playing on more than 4,000 screens. That's the power of horror when it works. It's a genre with a built-in audience to tap into. Unfortunately, the good news stops there for this one as all of the other metrics we have indicate that this movie, and its two already-filmed sequels, may be facing an uphill battle from here on out.

Here's the problem: "The Strangers: Chapter 1" has a lousy C CinemaScore, which means audiences were pretty soft on it. That's not always an issue but critics have been wildly unkind as well, as it boasts a mere 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. /Film's BJ Colangelo called it "frustrating" and a "paint-by-numbers slasher" in her review. That's a big issue when Lionsgate is banking on audiences returning for "Chapter 2" and "Chapter 3," which are already in the can and awaiting release in the coming months.

The film is a remake of Bryan Bertino's 2008 home invasion classic "The Strangers" — not a prequel. It picks up after a couple's car breaks down in an eerie small town and they are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. They end up being terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with seemingly no motive. Madelaine Petsch ("Riverdale") and Froy Gutierrez ("Cruel Summer") lead the cast.

For Lionsgate, the good news is that Harlin filmed all three films at once and the first chapter comes with a reported budget of $8.5 million. Presumably, we're going to triple that figure for the cost of the trilogy, putting the entire enterprise in the $25 million range before marketing. The catch there is that the studio has to market three movies in the span of less than a year. That's not cheap. The hope from the beginning was to hook hardcore horror fans with "Chapter 1" and get them on board for the other two, with the audience potentially growing for each installments as more viewers caught up with each entry at home as well.

Unfortunately, the poor reviews and audience reception aren't helping here. Not to get into spoilers but, as the title implies it would, "Chapter 1" ends on a cliffhanger. Is that going to be enough to get moviegoers back in a few months to see where this all goes? Or are viewers largely going to be turned off by this first installment? That's the big, lingering question now.

For Lionsgate, it's a rough start to what was an interesting gamble. For movie theaters, it's yet another blow in a year full of big blows so far. Based on this first movie's start, it's probably going to drop like a rock in weekend two, and the planned follow-ups now have almost no chance of becoming big hits. All involved are going to have to settle for modest hit status at best.

"The Strangers: Chapter 1" is in theaters now.