THE NUN II opening | MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3 opening | Horror movies in 2023 | September 8 to 10, 2023 weekend
THE NUN II opening | MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3 opening | Horror movies in 2023 | September 8 to 10, 2023 weekend
Opening weekend box office, charts and commentary
The current weekend: September 8 to 10, 2023
1) The Nun II opening
- This is a very good opening for a horror follow-up sequel. This is also the 9th episode in The Conjuring series, and by that elite measure it's excellent. The weekend figure is down significantly from the first Nun's opening — that's par for the genre. Either way you look at it, this is a strong start:
- The Conjuring has spun off three stories now: Annabelle, The Nun and Curse of La Llorona. No other horror series has done that. All of the films have over-performed abroad; more than half of their BO has come from overseas, which is exceptional for a horror pic.
The Catholic clergy have a very good track record in this genre, including in The Exorcist, The Omen, The Rite, The Pope’s Exorcist, and in this series. Nuns and priests are serious about their work, and if one of them gets possessed, as in The Nun, it’s going to be a frightening, unholy mess. Audiences are responding — again.
2) My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 opening
- This is a weak opening for a romantic comedy 3rd episode. Romantic comedies rarely get to three episodes: only American Pie, Bridget Jones and Tyler Perry's comedies have done it before this. It's not easy keeping the romantic complications fresh and the personalities funny. This story is winding down now:
3) Horror movies in 2023
- Horror films have been resilient during the pandemic. The number of releases certainly dipped in 2020 and 2021, but the films have consistently shown originality and energy, particularly the low-budget titles (Smile, M3gan, Talk to Me, et al.).
We estimate that the average budget for this year’s current lineup of 18 movies is just under $23m per film, or approx. $412m in total production costs. Even if marketing and distribution expenses double that figure (which would be high), it’s clear what a good business this is, and there's healthy ancillary income to boot.
We expect a couple more horror wide releases to be added to the schedule before the end of the year:
- What makes these films effective is the quality of their basic production elements: lighting, sound design, makeup/wardrobe and editing. No sprawling set-pieces, endless special effects, or complicated green screen post-production. De-aging the cast is generally not necessary! Just clever production and imaginative filmmaking. The horror genre is thriving now.