Evil Dead Rise was projected to gross $15 to $20 million at the box office for its opening weekend but ended up breaking a record instead. While some predicted it could come up to $25 million, it still ripped through those expectations as the Warner Bros. R-rated horror film grossed $24.5 million domestic and, with its international box office, ended its weekend with a $41.3 million debut. As pointed out by analysis Luiz Fernando, this breaks the record for a pandemic-era Warner Bros. movie for a horror debut. The previous holder was The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which debuted with $24.1 million.
The pandemic has seen successes across the board, but horror has been king in the era of COVID. We have seen plenty of successes, like openings for Smile ($22.6 million) and The Black Phone ($23.6 million). The opening box office for Evil Dead Rise is a big win for both horror and Warner Bros. It is not the biggest horror opening debut, as movies like Nope ($44.3 million), Scream VI ($44.4 million), and Scream ($30 million) have had stronger starts. Still, it is a good time for fans of horror, who are clearly supporting the genre.
Evil Dead Rise Shreds Studio’s Opening Weekend Box Office Record
For a franchise, the Deadites have not been known for moving the needle too much at the box office. Evil Dead Rise comes in shy of having a better box office debut than the 2013 film, which goes above the rest by a long way. It had opened with $25.7 million and gone off to gross $99 million. While the latest film is off to a great start, it is yet to be seen if it will go above the 2013 movie and break into the $100 million territory. If it does, which is possible at $41 million worldwide, it would be a milestone that will open the door for more entries of the franchise.
The franchise is revving up its chainsaw, as it seems we will be getting more in the coming years. It has been teased by Bruce Campbell that we will get more “every two or three years.” Between the money and the IP’s legs over decades of shows, movies, and video games, it would not be a surprise to see it grow exponentially in the coming years.