Universal’s latest horror-comedy “Renfield” has made $900,000 in Thursday previews from 2,750 theaters and will expand to 3,375 locations on Friday. However, it faces stiff competition from last week’s box office champion, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which is expected to make between $58 million to $66 million in its second weekend.
The time has come. Dracula is HERE 🧛🏼♂️ #RenfieldMovie is now playing, only in theaters. pic.twitter.com/kfXTP1STKH
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalPics) April 14, 2023
“Renfield,” which stars Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his servant, is projected to earn only $10 million in its opening weekend. This is disappointing given its $65 million budget. The film will also have to compete against the R-rated horror movie “The Pope’s Exorcist,” which cost only $18 million to produce and opened to $850,000 in previews.
Universal has been reviving its classic monster movies in recent years, with successes like “The Invisible Man” starring Elisabeth Moss, and failures like Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” reboot in 2017. The studio has had to rethink its horror strategy and interconnected Dark Universe as a result. This week, it was reported that Radio Silence, the team behind the successful “Scream” reboot, will be working on a secret monster movie for Universal.
Apart from “Renfield” and “The Pope’s Exorcist,” the horror genre is having a big weekend with the limited release of Ari Aster’s “Beau If Afraid,” starring Joaquin Phoenix. It will have a wide release next week.
