American Horror Story

Horror flicks simply aren’t performing at the box office with the potency they demonstrated as recently as last year. But is this the result of oversaturation or simply a natural come-down from previously unsustainable highs?

Beyond blood-suckers, Abigail’s mediocre launch amplifies the concerns in Hollywood that there are too many horror films, or that general interest audiences have turned against them. Courtesy of Universal

Scott Mendelson

April 23, 2024

The underwhelming $10.2 million domestic debut of Universal’s well-reviewed and well-received Abigail is a disappointment, but perhaps not a shock. Sure, the movie had a fun hook (kidnappers realize that the 12-year-old girl they snatched is a vampire), the cast was filled with geek-friendly names (Melissa Barrera, Kathryn Newton, and Dan Stevens), and it came from the directors of Ready or Not and the past two Scream flicks (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett). But that only meant so much to general audiences, especially for a film that carried a $28 million production budget.