Even with its mediocre reviews The Strangers: Chapter 1 has scared up quite a killing at the box office, making it the biggest horror film to open in 2024 so far. Ticket buyers shelled out $11.8 million domestically for the home invasion thriller over the weekend, surpassing the last film in the series Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) which grabbed almost $10.5 million upon its opening.

The year started out promisingly with fans anticipating big studio movies such as Night Swim, Imaginary, and Tarot on the slate. But those fell flat both critically and commercially, casting a pall over the box office, although Night Swim’s opening is almost on par with The Strangers Chapter 1.

It wasn’t until March that things started to improve critically with the release of Immaculate and then in April, The First Omen. Still, good reviews could pull either of those films into the $10 million opening weekend club.

However, his has been a streamer year for horror movies, with many genre originals being released on paid subscription services like Shudder. Viewers seem to appreciate the convenience of staying home to watch Late Night With the Devil, Infested, and the upcoming In a Violent Nature. Even this year’s breakout hit Abigail successfully moved from theaters to home digital just three weeks after its theatrical release.

With the year half over, there are still plenty of horror movies headed our way. To name a few, there is Longlegs, Cuckoo, MaXXXine, and Trap still loaded in the chamber for 2024.

The Strangers: Chapter 1, as the title suggests, is the first in director Renny Harlin’s trilogy within this universe. Whether or not the remaining two will be as lucrative on their opening weekends despite tepid reviews remains to be seen.

Pretty much any piece of writing from Stephen King is ripe for a movie adaptation. The next one is a 1980 short story that appeared in his 1985 anthology Skeleton Crew, specifically The Monkey. The news broke by Deadline says Neon won the bidding war and the film will release in 2025.

Distributors went gaga trying to secure the rights with Neon the victor reportedly paying seven figures for the horror movie.

According to Deadline: “In The Monkey, when twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them. Theo James plays the twins in later years. [Christian] Convery plays the younger twins.”

The film is directed by Osgood (Oz) Perkins whose buzz-drunk current project, Longlegs is releasing on July 12.

The film also stars, Tatiana Maslany (She–Hulk: Attorney at Law), Elijah Wood (The Lord Of The Rings), Colin O’Brien (Wonka), Rohan Campbell (The Hardy Boys) and Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek).

James Wan and Michael Clear’s banner Atomic Robot have a production credit.

In 2023 a short film directed by Spencer Sherry was adapted from the King story. That film is currently touring the film festival market but you can watch the trailer below.

This may come as a shock to fans of the franchise. In an interview with Deadline, Sony Chairman Tony Rothman stated he would return “in a surprising way”. His character was last seen in the first film, 28 Days Later, and wasn’t seen again in the sequel, 28 Weeks Later. Other actors starring in the movie include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, and more. Check out more of what he said and more about the film 28 Years Later below.

Rothman stated, “Yes, but in a surprising way and in a way that grows, let me put it that way. This is Danny at his best, combined with a very commercial genre, like we had with Edgar Wright and Baby Driver.”

While the plot is being kept under wraps, we know that this will be a trilogy of films and that Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) will direct the first film 28 Years Later. Alex Garland is writing the scripts for all 3 films. Danny Boyle’s role in the next two films is unknown as Nia DaCosta (Candyman 2021) is set to direct the second film. No director has been attached to the final film in the trilogy. Cillian Murphy will be an executive producer and actor for the first film. The film will also star Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Jodie Comer (The Last Duel), Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List), and Jack O’Connell (Eden Lake).

28 Days Later was released in 2002 and follows the story of Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes up in a coma only to find that the city he is in is deserted. He later comes to find out that a mysterious aggression-inducing virus has swept through the United Kingdom and has turned everyone into flesh-eating zombies. The first film was a financial success, making $84.6M on an $8M Budget. 

This is exciting news for fans of the franchise and a surprise as well. Are you excited that Cillian Murphy will be appearing in the film? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out the trailer for the original film below.