A 2024 Horror Gem Is Finally Finding Its Audience On Amazon Prime Video

The first half of 2024 was pretty unkind to a lot of movies. The box office was on life support for most of that period and it all felt kind of bleak for anyone who pays attention to such things. The most depressing part was that quite a few great movies were being hung out to dry, including "The Fall Guy" and "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga," among others. "Abigail," the latest horror movie from the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, was also a big disappointment theatrically. Fortunately though, it's finally finding its audience.

"Abigail" is currently streaming on Prime Video and, as of this writing, is sitting in the number four spot on Amazon's most-watched movies chart (via FlixPatrol). It's currently only trailing Mark Wahlberg's 2021 sci-fi flop "Infinite" (which also recently found new life on Prime Video), Nancy Meyers' perennial 2006 rom-com "The Holiday," and the acclaimed Aubrey Plaza-led sci-fi comedy "My Old Ass." Radio Silence's horror-comedy has been rapidly climbing the charts ever since it debuted, though. This vampire is coming for you, Wahlberg.

For those who may have missed it, "Abigail" centers on a team of criminals who are hired by a mysterious figure to kidnap the daughter of a powerful underworld figure. Their task? Guard the 12-year-old ballerina for one night and they earn a $50 million payday. However, they quickly discover this little girl is not what she seems, leaving them locked inside an isolated mansion to fight for their lives.

Milage always varies from person to person, but "Abigail" was met with a generally favorable response from critics. /Film's BJ Colangelo even gave the film a perfect 10/10 rating in her review out of the Overlook Film Festival. This to say, it's a movie that clearly deserved a bigger audience than it was afforded in theaters.

"Abigail" stars Melissa Barrera ("Scream"), Dan Stevens ("The Guest"), Kathryn Newton ("Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"), Will Catlett ("Never Let Go"), Giancarlo Esposito ("Better Call Saul"), Kevin Durand ("Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"), Alisha Weir ("Matilda: The Musical"), and Matthew Goode ("Watchmen"). It also features Angus Cloud ("Euphoria") in one of his final film roles following the young actor's shocking death in 2023.

Despite very solid reviews, "Abigail" opened well below expectations to just $10 million at the box office and topped out at merely $42.7 million worldwide. For Universal Pictures, it was a big disappointment given the $28 million budget. Not to mention, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had previously delivered several hits in a row, including "Ready or Not" and the last two "Scream" films.

Fortunately, with a budget of that size, it's possible for "Abigail" to eventually make its money back thanks to streaming, VOD, and even physical media sales (though that's only a small slice of the pie these days). Setting aside the financials, it's just nice to see a good movie getting its day in the sun after an underwhelming start earlier this year. The cream often does rise to the top, ultimately.

"Abigail" is streaming now on Prime Video. You can also grab it on Blu-ray/DVD via Amazon.