Although 2024’s Salem’s Lot is the book's latest adaptation.

Salem’s Lot is directed by Annabelle Comes Home director Gary Dauberman, who also penned 2017 and 2019’s two-part King adaptation It and It Chapter Two. While that series made over a billion dollars at the box office, Salem’s Lot arrived a little too late to ride on the franchise’s wave of success. Although Dauberman also worked on the successful Annabelle sequels and The Nun movies, the release date of 2024’s Salem’s Lot remake was pushed back repeatedly. Scheduled for cinematic release on September 9, 2022, Salem’s Lot was pushed off until April 2023 before further delays.

Salem’s Lot Is The Latest Stephen King Movie To Skip Theaters

Mr. Harrigan’s Phone And Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Went Straight to Streaming

Now, the adaptation is finally set to be released on October 3, 2024, but Salem’s Lot will go straight to streaming instead of earning a theatrical release. The remake is the third recent Stephen King movie to go straight to streaming after Netflix released Mr. Harrigan’s Phone in 2022 and the Pet Sematary prequel Bloodlines arrived in late 2023. 2023’s similarly delayed Children of the Corn prequel had a brief, unspectacular cinematic run, but that long-awaited release was also dumped to VOD shortly after. Studios have shown little faith in King’s adaptations in recent years, as evidenced by Salem’s Lot.

2023’s The Boogeyman fared a little better with its modest payday, earning $82 million at the box office on a budget of $35 million. However, although Pet Sematary: Bloodlines’ success should be a relief for the creators of Salem’s Lot, the remake's straight-to-streaming release doesn’t bode well for its critical prospects. While 2017’s It was a hit with viewers and critics alike, its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two earned more mixed reviews. The same year’s divisive, big-budget The Shining sequel, Dr. Sleep, wasn't a financial success, while 2022’s Firestarter remake was an outright disaster critically and commercially.

Why Salem’s Lot’s Straight to Streaming Release Was A Mistake

The Remake Looks Stronger Than Stephen King’s Recent Movie Adaptations

Firestarter's failure might explain why the studio wasn't eager to release another Stephen King remake in theaters later in 2022, but the decision to drop Salem’s Lot on VOD in October 2024 is more surprising. Judging by its trailer, Salem’s Lot seems like an ambitious, scary, immersive effort, closer in scope to the It movies than Firestarter, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, or even The Boogeyman. Horror movies have continued their box office hot streak throughout 2024 with hits like Longlegs, Alien: Romulus, and A Quiet Place: Day One, so the decision to release Salem’s Lot on VOD could haunt the Stephen King remake.