Universal’s $66 Million Horror Story To Take On ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Detailed summary

Over the past few years a seismic shift has been quietly sweeping through cinemas. Low-budget horror films have surged in popularity boosting studio profits.

Over the past few years a seismic shift has been quietly sweeping through cinemas around the world. Low-budget horror films have surged in popularity boosting studio profits and transforming the demographics of moviegoers. Led by blockbusters like Obsession, Backrooms, Sinners and M3GAN, Hollywood appears to have found the magic formula for reinvigorating the industry. Its next instalment is set to pack perhaps its most powerful punch.

A film about a mute peasant who lives on an isolated farm in medieval England and is cursed to transform into a murderous werewolf with every full moon doesn't sound like a festive classic. However, such is the strength of the horror genre that Universal is due to drop a movie with this theme on Christmas Day.

Called Werwulf, it isn't just going up against the season but also against two guaranteed box office behemoths in the form of Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. Surprisingly, it could still cast a powerful spell on Universal's fortunes.

In the grand tradition of Universal horror flicks, Werwulf explores medieval folklore, religious superstition and the boundary between humanity and monstrosity. It should have horror fans salivating and every dollar they spend will go much further than the takings of the titans it is going up against. That's because although Werwulf has an A-List cast including Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp and Ralph Ineson, the movie cost less than $70 million to film.

Horror movies are manna from heaven for studios because the best ones don't rely on costly and time-consuming Computer Generated Imagery (CGI). Instead, the more they employ practical effects and prosthetics, the more authentic they look and the more successful they are likely to be. This enables them to be cheaper and quicker to make than sci-fi or action films and it is reflected in the latest filings for the Universal production company which is making Werwulf in the United Kingdom.

The earnings report for Universal's…

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