Labor Day Weekend Box Office Report: As Above/So Below Somewhere in the Middle
Those Guardians of the Galaxy continued to rule the box office this Labor Day weekend. So where did that leave the horror offering As Above/So Below and the 70th anniversary re-release of arguably the most influential horror comedy of a generation?
As Above/So Below managed to continue two trends at once. First, the Paris-set Universal/Legendary horror film marks the latest found footage movie promoted in such a way as to hope you didn’t know that going in. Just how on the outs is the found footage genre that Hollywood marketers are now going out of their way to downplay the format?
As Above/So Below also continues the trend of wide release horror movies in 2014 not exactly lighting the box office on fire. Falling near the middle of the pack at #5 with an estimated $10.7 million for the Labor Day weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, that’s just slightly more than previous Labor Day weekend horror releases Apollo 18 ($8.4 million) and Shark Night ($8.7 million). Oof!
Always fickle horror-goers gave the film a C- Cinemascore so this one might as well be buried in the Catacombs in which the film is set.
The 70th anniversary re-release of the comedy classic Ghostbusters finished outside the top ten in 15th place with $2.2 million. That’s a bit above what Raiders of the Lost Ark‘s re-release did ($1.67 million), though not quite as impressive given Ghostbusters was released on over 700 screens and Raiders returned on less than 700. I’d still call that number notable given how widely available Ghostbusters is on every conceivable video format and VOD service.
Hey, maybe that bodes well for that upcoming 10th anniversary re-release of Saw. Most remarkable: I typed that last sentence with a straight face.
Aside from the upcoming fantasy thriller Innocence, the Fatal Attraction-esque No Good Deeds, and the young adult adaptation The Maze Runner, the genre takes the month of September off before returning the first week of October with the Conjuring spin-off Annabelle.
As Above/So Below director John Erick Dowdle (Quarantine, Devil) wrote the script with his brother, Drew. The film stars Ben Feldman, Perdita Weeks, and Edwin Hodge.
Read Staci Layne Wilson’s positive As Above/So Below review.
Read Uncle Creepy’s negative As Above/So Below review.
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