Ethan Hawke’s ‘Black Phone 2’ Overtakes One of the Biggest Horror Flops of All Time at the Box Office
Before Universal pivoted to smaller-budget adaptations of its classic monsters’ library, the studio had been spending top-dollar on potential franchise-starters. What more can be said about their ill-fated Dark Universe, the would-be shared franchise that was supposed to unite several of the studio’s most iconic monsters? The Dark Universe failed to lift off after the critical and commercial failure of The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise. The Mummy is now being rebooted by director Lee Cronin, while a continuation of the blockbuster trilogy led by Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz has also been green-lit. But before the failure of Cruise’s film, Universal had produced an even bigger flop in The Wolfman. So low were the film’s grosses that it has now been overtaken by the studio’s far cheaper horror sequel, Black Phone 2.
Released only a few weeks ago, Black Phone 2 is already available to stream at home. Still, it was able to pass the coveted $100 million mark during its global box office run. And although it fell drastically short of the first film’s $160 million total, it has now overtaken The Wolfman‘s $62 million lifetime domestic haul. Produced on a reported budget of $150 million, The Wolfman concluded its run with just over $140 million worldwide, prompting the Los Angeles Times to add it to their list of the “costliest box office flops of all time.” It starred Benicio del Toro in the lead role, along with Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving.
A ‘Wolfman’ Reboot Directed by Leigh Whannell Flopped Earlier This Year
The Wolfman was directed by Joe Johnston, whose box-office track record has been uneven. Although he has directed classic blockbusters such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji, he has also made underperformers such as Jurassic Park III, The Rocketeer, and even the fan-favorite Captain America: The First Avenger. The Wolfman is his biggest bomb, along with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. The movie opened to poor reviews, and is now sitting at a 32% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Suitably grand and special effects-laden, The Wolfman suffers from a suspense-deficient script and a surprising lack of genuine chills.” A much smaller-scale reboot, titled Wolf Man and directed by Leigh Whannell, starring Christopher Abbott, was released to lukewarm reviews and a disappointing box-office performance earlier this year. You can watch The Wolfman and Black Phone 2 at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
February 10, 2010
Runtime
125 minutes
Writers
Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self, Curt Siodmak
Franchise(s)
Universal Monsters
