This has been a good year for horror movies in the U.S., with It, Annabelle: Creation, Get Out and 47 Meters Down enjoying very good returns at the box office. A Ghost Story also did very well in comparison to its production budget, even though it's very much not a traditional horror piece, and It Comes At Night scored points and stirred up further conversations.
Less well-regarded titles like Wish Upon and Rings barely earned back their reported production budgets, but should turn profits in the home video realm.
But there's nothing odd or unusual about any of that. Horror devotees tend to see every theatrical release, just because there are relatively few titles that make it to big screens, and some of them also nab interest from more mainstream viewers, drawn by curiosity or subject matter, or the ridiculous assertion: "it's not a horror movie if I deny its intent or delivery system or claim it didn't scare me." (OK, if that makes you feel better in the morning.)
All that to say, what is wrong with The Amityville: The Awakening? Or, more pointedly, The Weinsten Company? The distributor has set and then changed various release dates for the movie. Most recently, it was set to go last month and then pulled.
I tend to think that reflects more on the distributor than the movie. Even if it some's kind of unmitigated disaster, I'd love to see what Franck Khalfoun (Maniac) cooked up.
For now, we have a Portuguese-language TV spot to remind us that the movie is still out there, hoping to create a little tension for someone. It opens in Brazil on September 14. Here's the Portuguese-language synopsis:
A jovem Belle (Bella Thorne) está disposta a desvendar os mistérios que envolvem a mítica casa para qual se mudou com sua família. Com o destino de sua mãe e seus irmãos em jogo, o bem e o mal colidem numa atmosfera de suspense onde apenas Belle é capaz de defender sua família de uma força sobrenatural. Amityville: O Despertar estreia nos cinemas em 14 de setembro.