creepy

How did gay horror ‘Knock at the Cabin’ perform at the box office?

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Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Kristen Cui in Knock At The Cabin
Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge and Kristen Cui in Knock At The Cabin (Universal)

Horror mystery Knock At The Cabin has proved a box office winner… sort of. Opening at the end of last week, the good news is that it managed to dethrone Avatar: The Way Of Water from the top of the US box office after an incredible seven weeks at the summit.

Knock At The Cabin took $14.2 million. It narrowly beat the comedy 80 For Brady ($12.5 million) to take the number one position. Avatar 2 ($11.3 million) came in third.

That’s certainly good enough for the movie’s makers to be celebrating.

On the downside, it had the lowest opening weekend of any M. Night Shyamalan movie. Even 2021’s critically-panned Old managed $16 million.

Knock at the Cabin is based on the 2018 horror book The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. It stars gay actors Jonathan Groff (Looking, Glee) and Ben Aldridge (Spoiler Alert). They play parents who will do anything to protect their daughter (Kristen Cui).

The family takes a vacation at a secluded cabin. However, things take a dark turn when they’re held hostage by four strangers who demand they make the ultimate sacrifice to avert the apocalypse.

Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Rupert Grint (Harry Potter) are two of the strangers.

The movie’s budget was reportedly around $20 million. Outside the US, it took just under $7 million. If it follows a similar trajectory to Old, it could take $40-$55 million by the time it departs theaters globally.

’80 For Brady’

80 For Brady’s performance will cheer executives at Paramount. The movie, which stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno, managed to tempt older audiences back to theaters.

“We’re pretty darn happy with the results,” Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson told Variety. “It proves the old adage: you don’t need to make a movie for everybody, but it has to be for somebody.”

It’s possible 80 For Brady actually pulled in a larger audience than Knock At The Cabin, even if it took slightly less money. Many theaters offered discounted matinee performances of the former, with an eye on the elderly market.

It’s unlikely James Cameron will be weeping about Avatar slipping down to third place. The long-gestated sequel has now taken over $2.1billion at the worldwide box office.

Did you go to see Knock At The Cabin, and if so, what did you make of it?

Related:

Gus Kenworthy parties with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno

Former Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy posted a sweet photo of himself with four acting legends.

Gay dads are terrorized in the second, creepy trailer for ‘Knock At The Cabin’

The full trailer dropped on Christmas Day.

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