A Quiet Place: Day One Finally Lifts The 2024 Box Office Curse On Horror Movies

The year might have gotten off to a slow start at the box office, but things are finally starting to heat up in the back half of 2024. Not only did "Inside Out 2" just cross the $1 billion mark after a stellar $57.4 million third weekend in theaters, but Paramount's "A Quiet Place: Day One" finally delivered the horror hit that we've been waiting for. Indeed, the third installment in the ever-expanding sci-fi franchise delivered a franchise-best domestic opening, taking in an estimated $53 million. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Director Michael Sarnoski's "Quiet Place" prequel also took in a stellar $45.5 million overseas, bringing its global total to $98.5 million. With that, it becomes the highest-grossing horror movie of 2024 worldwide after just a single weekend in theaters. The previous record belonged to the South Korean blockbuster "Exhuma," which did $97.6 million worth of business around the world, becoming a modest hit in the U.S. along the way.

As far as Hollywood goes, things have been far more shaky this year. The biggest American movie of 2024 at the box office had been Blumhouse's "Night Swim" ($54.6 million), and that opened back in January. From there, we have "The First Omen" ($53.8 million), and Sony's sneakily little horror hit "Tarot" ($48.1 million) that were heading up the pack. That is a far cry from what we've seen in recent years; horror was becoming by far the most reliable hit-making genre of the pandemic era until this year brought things to a halt.

Fortunately, "Day One" had a lot going for it that helped it soar at the box office. From a cast led by Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'O to outstanding reviews, just about everything went right here. It certainly doesn't hurt that the first two "A Quiet Place" films from director John Krasinski resonated with audiences, leaving them wanting more.

The prequel decimated expectations, with earlier tracking suggesting an opening in the $40 million range. Even that would have made it by far the biggest opening weekend for a horror movie this year. More encouraging is the fact that "Day One" beat the openings of both 2018's "A Quiet Place" ($50.2 million opening, $340.9 million worldwide) and 2021's "A Quiet Place: Part II" ($47.5 million opening, $297.3 million worldwide). Depending on how things shake out, this prequel could end up topping the previous two installments globally. Even if it falls short of that mark, against a reported $67 million budget, this film is well on its way to profitability already.

2022 saw several surprising breakout horror hits, including Park Finn's "Smile" ($217 million), "Scream" ($138 million), and "The Black Phone" ($161 million). 2023 similarly delivered the goods, with "Saw X" ($112 million), "Evil Dead Rise" ($147 million), "Scream VI" ($169 million), "M3GAN," ($180 million), "Insidious: The Red Door" ($189 million), and the blockbuster that was "Five Nights at Freddy's" ($293 million) all delivering the goods in theaters.

Unfortunately, we've yet to see that pattern continue this year. Yes, we've had some qualified successes, such as "Late Night with the Devil" and "Immaculate," but those were hits relative to their small budgets and muted expectations. We hadn't seen any franchise hits breakout and, more importantly, no originals emerged to deliver blockbuster grosses. Fortunately, the back half of the year has more promising titles including M. Night Shyamalan's new original thriller "Trap" and "Alien: Romulus." With any luck, horror's good run isn't over, it was just briefly interrupted

"A Quiet Place: Day One" is in theaters now.