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Despite Domestic Woes, The Mummy Crushes International Box Office

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The first entry to Universal’s Dark Universe may have had a lackluster opening weekend at the domestic box office, but elsewhere, the Tom Cruise-powered reboot is making a killing.

As predicted, The Mummy made a little less than $35 million this weekend in the United States. Despite this, Variety reports that the Alex Kurtzman-directed film is expected to make more than $141.8 million by the end of the weekend. Combined with the United States’ $32.2 million, that makes a whopping $174 million in total. Not bad.

Universal

This is the biggest opening that veteran action star Tom Cruise has accomplished in his career thus far. The majority of ticket sales come from China, with South Korea coming in second. In total, the two territories brought in $70 million.

Many have voiced their doubts about the planned Dark Universe’s future given the abysmal reaction by many critics. However, these numbers are most definitely high enough to calm anyone’s fears about the sprawling project’s longevity. The Mummy has helped to push Universal over the $3 billion global market in 2017 with still six months to go in the year. What this equates to is, pardon my french but holy shit that’s a lot of money. But what does this mean for horror fans?

Clear skies – or darkened skies, if you prefer – ahead!

Universal owes much of their success thus far to The Fate of the Furious, but the studio has also seen significant gains from both Split and Get Out earlier in the year. If you like the way that Universal does horror, you’re in luck. If you’re not a fan, then I have some bad news for you: given the enormous amount of money that Universal has been raking in, the studio will undoubtedly push forward into the horror market.

Box office numbers are great and all, but what does this mean for the rest of horror cinema? An educated guess would say that more studios will begin to take riskier gambles with genre films. Despite the cancellation of Friday the 13th, the market for horror movies remains stronger than ever. No, Universal does not own the rights to Mr. Voorhees, but if they did, you could be sure that we’d still be getting another film set in Camp Crystal Lake. Could this make Paramount reconsider down the line? Possibly.

So the critics didn’t like The Mummy – fine. Many fans have taken kindly to the film, with iHorror’s own Ryan T. Cusick describing the movie as “A strong start to the (Universal) monster franchise.” You can read the rest of his review here.

If you’ve seen the film, let us know what you think of it. If you haven’t seen it yet, get on it! You don’t want to be left out, do you?

Universal

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‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt

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Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.

In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.

The Strangers

This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.

The Strangers

Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.

“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”

The Strangers

The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”

The Strangers

The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.

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‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time

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It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?

It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.

Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott

Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.

Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.

Great Movie Ride

The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.

It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.

Alien Romulus
Alien (1979)

The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.

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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween

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Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.

The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.

Home Depot Skeleton Prop

This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.

This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.

“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”

Home Depot Prop

But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.

This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.

Terror Dog Prop
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