Summary

• The Strangers: Chapter 1 is projected to take in an opening weekend domestic gross of $12.3 million.
• This means that the movie has already earned its production budget back.
• The movie continues the franchise's tradition of low budget horror success despite negative reviews.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 has already hit an important box office milestone in its opening weekend. It is part reboot and part prequel to the original 2008 home invasion horror movie, which was followed by the 2018 standalone sequel Prey at Night. All three movies have earned Rotten scores on Rotten Tomatoes, though the new movie's is the worst, standing at 13% at the time of writing. The Strangers: Chapter 1 release is intended to kick off a prequel trilogy, with the already-shot Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 set to follow it in 2024 and an unspecified date respectively.

Per Deadline, the Strangers: Chapter 1 box office is currently projected to earn a 3-day domestic box office opening weekend of $12.3 million. This will land it at No. 3 on the chart behind the second weekend of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (roughly $25 million) and the opening weekend of John Krasinski's IF ($30.5 million). However, this total means that the home invasion horror movie has already earned back its production budget, as it only cost a reported $8.5 million.

How The Strangers: Chapter 1 Compares To The Rest Of The Franchise

The Strangers Franchise Has A History Of Box Office Success

While premiering at No. 3 isn't necessarily a badge of honor for any new wide release, Chapter 1 is continuing a franchise tradition as both previous movies also debuted at No. 3 on the chart. Another tradition it is carrying on is overcoming poor reviews by becoming a more or less instant hit due to its genre appeal and its low budget. Below, see how the movie's Rotten Tomatoes score and opening weekend compare to the other The Strangers movies:

Typically, theaters keep half of ticket sales, so a movie's break-even point is roughly twice its budget without factoring in publicity costs. According to that metric, both previous movies hit their break-even point in their opening weekends, even though the 2018 sequel struggled to reach the outstanding overall gross of the original. By that metric, Chapter 1 is trailing behind somewhat, as it is the second most expensive title in the franchise, but between its global opening weekend and its next few weeks of box office, it seems certain to break even and start earning a profit without any trouble.

The The Strangers: Chapter 1 cast centering on Riverdale's Madelaine Petsch and Teen Wolf's Froy Gutierrez could also help cement its lead over Prey at Night, which was led by two young actors (Bailee Madison and Lewis Pullman) who would eventually go on to bigger projects (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and Top Gun: Maverick respectively) but weren't necessarily as well known as the time. However, it remains to be seen if it outdoes that $31 million gross. Regardless, it has paved the way for the next two movies to make their budgets back as well.

Source: Deadline