Will “The Purge” create a surge of low-budget horror movies?
From Steve Zeitchik at the Los Angeles Times:
Low-budget horror under studio auspices seems to work more often than not. This past weekend we saw the latest, and perhaps most shocking, example. “The Purge,” a futuristic horror thriller starring Ethan Hawke that was released by Universal Pictures, cost just $3 million to make. But its $36.4 million easily outpaced far starrier and better-funded rivals, most notably the Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn extravaganza “The Internship,” which had the cooperation of Google and seemed to run an ad in every third postseason TV sports minute.
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In the cyclical world of Hollywood, sometimes the best thinking goes against the grain. And the grain in recent years has been to make big spectacles. Many of them, of course, become big hits. But it’s also no surprise that there would be a backlash, or least that commercial audiences, peppered as they are with Hollywood sound-and-light shows, might like something with a hand-made quality once in a while too. (Of course, it still helps to make a satisfying movie. “The Purge” garnered a weak C CinemaScore, which will make for a tougher climb next weekend.)
It’s been nearly 15 years since “The Blair Witch Project” became the first of the modern hand-made genre phenomena. We’re a lot savvier about low-budget horror movies and found footage that often accompanies them. But the lessons of “Blair Witch” haven’t gone anywhere: In this outsized era, movies that feel small just keep resonating.
From Forbes:
This weekend, the tiny horror film The Purge earned an estimated $36 million, according to Exhibitor Relations. That’s a full $14 million more than the movie was expected to make and, if the estimates prove correct, the 10th best opening of the year. The cost of the film: $3 million.
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And that’s the great thing about horror movies. Even when they’re not remakes of a popular brand, they can still be made on the cheap and attract enough fans to earn money. People who love horror almost don’t care what the film is about or who the stars are, they care about the scares. Last year’s The Devil Inside cost only $1 million to produce and earned $100 million at the global box office. Sinister cost $3 million and brought in $77 million and House at the End of the Street cost $10 million and earned $40 million.
The horror genre has been a part of the Hollywood film business for decades. In the 1930s, Universal Studios made a killing — punt intended — on a series of horror movies including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man. New Line Cinema found its footing in 1984 when it ushered in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Lionsgate’s Saw series has taken in a total of $873M at the global box office. So in a way, this is nothing new.
But this idea that the glut of ‘big spectacle’ movies is actually creating a desire in audiences for ‘hand-made’ genre films is intriguing. These types of things do go in cycles. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that out of the glitz and glitter of disco music in the 70s emerged punk music. Perhaps there is something going on now that could fuel even more low-budget genre movies, especially horror.
It also fits hand-in-glove with the bifurcated business model at the major studios: Big budget blockbusters on the one end, low-budget genre projects on the other end.
So all you horror writers out there, this could be a fortuitous time for you.
For the rest of the Forbes article, go here.
For the rest of the LAT article, go here.
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