Horror at the Box Office: Final Destination Makes Triumphant Return
Exceeding all expectations, Final Destination: Bloodlines roared to a $50 million domestic debut and $102 million worldwide, smashing past all previous installments of the franchise and easily landing at the number one spot for the weekend.
With a sparkling 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, Bloodlines impressed critics as well as audiences, likely setting the stage for more sequels to come. The film cost $50 million to produce.
In third place was Sinners, which grossed $15 million, just a 30% drop from the previous weekend. It has made more than $240 million domestically and over $300 million worldwide. Warner Bros’s expensive gamble has paid off, and Sinners is going to be one of the year’s highest-grossing films.
Clown in a Cornfield landed in eighth place with $1.3 million and $6.3 million total, a rousing success for the $1 million budget film. It will continue to clown around in theaters for a couple more weeks before heading to Shudder.
In ninth place, Until Dawn was the fourth and final horror movie in the top ten, with $880k and a $19 million total domestic gross. It’s earned approximately $50 million worldwide on a budget of $15 million.
After a slow start to 2025, horror has picked up major momentum in theaters. Bloodlines and Sinners are spectacular successes. Clown in a Cornfield is set to be one of the most profitable horror flicks of the year. Even Until Dawn has put together a respectable box office run despite a tepid reception.
Looking Ahead
The most interesting thing to watch will be Final Destination: Bloodline‘s endurance level. We certainly can’t expect it to repeat what Sinners did. Considering its positive reception, it may still drop much less than typical slasher flicks, which usually fall 50%-60% after their opening weekend. The next big theatrical horror release is Bring Her Back on May 30th.
Next weekend adds an interesting wild card to the mix: Fear Street: Prom Queen. The Netflix slasher won’t be in theaters, but it will still provide competition. Given the opportunity to watch a brand new franchise flick in the comfort of their own homes, will horror fans still want to invest the time and expense of going to a theater?
