Image via Sony
Sony’s latest horror flick, The Invitation, has grossed a measly $7 million in its opening weekend at the box office. It debuted at 3,114 theaters. Despite the low figure, it has topped the box office for this painfully slow weekend.
CinemaScore gave the film a C, and it seems to not be reaching a wide audience of viewers. The Invitation did significantly worse than films like Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero did, which grossed over $21 million in a similar timeframe.
There may be a few factors as to why not many people went to see it, aside from any potential COVID-19 restrictions. Sitting in the middle of late August, many younger children are returning to school and many colleges are opening back up.
However, it also looks like the film itself just didn’t get the advertising money it needed to push it too far. It received a 29% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 53% audience score, which is pretty bad honestly. Additionally, the film is not a very unique PG-13 horror title. It’s skewed more towards female audiences, and audiences around the ages of 18-34.
In general, this weekend saw about $52.7 million at the box office, signaling that it looks like there aren’t many good films that people want to see out right now. Although the summer’s box office opened with some strong titles like Top Gun: Maverick, Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Thor: Love and Thunder, it just doesn’t look like this weekend did it for people.
In addition to The Invitation, George Miller’s R-rated fantasy film “Three Thousand Years of Longing” and John Boyega-led heist drama “Breaking” opened in cinemas. Three Thousand Years of Longing was in seventh place and Breaking was in 13th place.
The Invitation is about a girl named Evie who is invited to her long-lost family’s home in the middle of the English countryside. In this home, she uncovers some sinister secrets about her family.
Three Thousand Years of Longing stars Idris Elba as a Djinn and Tilda Swinton as a scholar who gets three wishes. The film grossed only $2.87 million and played at 2,436 locations. It’s not a good set of figures. It cost about $60 million to produce, and it looks like it’s going to be the year’s biggest box office flop.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
