When recently spoke with producer Jason Blum, he explained that Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone”It would be a good test to see if original horror films still have a future at the box office. But with the film crossing $100 million globally this week, Derrickson is warmed by the film’s success, and he’s not saying no to the idea of a follow-up.
Derrickson still has to deal with international media to get the best out of the movie, before he thinks about a sequel. “The Black Phone.”He tells him he’s been talking to “The Black Phone” Story in a short formatJoe Hill talks to Joe about how he is exploring more with these characters.
“It’s not something that is innately exciting to me, in the case of this story. I’m interested in the characters that we created, and I think there’s a tone to the movie that is unique and can be expanded upon,” Derrickson said. “So possibly, we’ll see. You never know, but I’m certainly not closed off to the idea.”
However, anyone talking about a prequel or sequel is partly because Derrickson believes horror is the only genre that has consistently created new franchises. “The Black Phone” is good proof that audiences have demonstrated they’ll keep showing out for something with new characters and fresh ideas.
“That’s so satisfying to me knowing that people were having a great experience and getting their money’s worth from something that was very personal,”Derrickson said. “It seems to be the one genre that original movies will then be so successful that you get ‘A Quiet Place’ that had a hugely successful sequel. That’s pretty common. The mainstream, big budget franchises that we have are mostly older franchises…all these things that have been around for a very long time are still the big heavyweights in the theaters.”
Blumhouse Productions have released six films in the domestic box office since the pandemic. That includes the $63.5million that was taken out by the company. “The Black Phone”It has been made domestically. The U.S. “The Black Phone”This is the fifth-highest grossing horror film ever made since the pandemic. It should be No. 4 movie “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”It takes just days.
However, the film is internationally recognized and is currently the fifth highest pandemic horror movie worldwide. It is however surpassed by four sequels and franchise horror films, “A Quiet Place Part II,” “Scream,” “The Conjuring” and Blumhouse’s own “Halloween Kills.”
Derrickson has previously stated that “The Black Phone” is his most personal and favorite film he’s made in his career, which also includes “Sinister,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,”The original “Doctor Strange.” So he’s thrilled to see that the movie has played at home but also latched on with audiences abroad, where it’s the top horror film of the year in markets like Hong Kong, Japan and Mexico.
But if there’s an X-factor to why the film has done so well with audiences in movie theaters specifically, it’s because the film has an unexpectedly uplifting ending for which he’s learned of audiences cheering, laughing and applauding throughout — hardly the reactions you’d typically expect for a horror film.
“To make a movie like that is the ultimate satisfaction in some ways. I didn’t necessarily think it would do that. But I knew that it was the most emotional movie that I had made and the only movie with a really uplifting ending I had ever made. I think that has a lot to do with that,” Derrickson explained.
“The Black Phone”It’s in cinemas now, and will be available on premium video-on-demand Friday.
