Christopher Nolan’s three-hour drama “Oppenheimer” just made history for Universal Pictures. It’s not only the studio’s 10th highest grossing film in North America of the 21st century, but it’s the century’s biggest non-“Fast and Furious”, non-“Jurassic World” and non-Illumination animated movie so far. That’s quite an accomplishment.
Universal’s next big potential blockbuster release is “The Exorcist: Believer” (out Oct. 6). It’s a direct sequel to the 1973 original (a Warner Bros. picture that’s celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a Fathom Events re-release). I just watched “The Exorcist” for the first time. Wow. Thrilling.
Horror has been one of the cornerstones of Universal since its inception, largely thanks to some of the classic movie monsters. Over the past 25 years, UNI has revived some iconic characters and kick-started franchises. Just look at Brendan Fraser’s “The Mummy” trilogy, 2005’s juggernaut “King Kong”, the Oscar-winning 2010 version of “The Wolfman” and 2020 Elisabeth Moss-led “The Invisible Man”.
Not everything has worked. 2004’s “Van Helsing” with Hugh Jackman made $120 million and was No. 3 for the studio for the year, but it was pretty much panned. The 2017 “Mummy” reboot with Tom Cruise was a major disappointment.
What has worked: UNI’s relationships with talented filmmakers. Jordan Peele’s “Get Out”, “Us” and “Nope” all made money and critical and audience impact. The three modern Jamie Lee Curtis “Halloween” installments, produced by Jason Blum, garnered tons of attention.
UNI gave M. Night Shyamalan the chance to revive his career with horror thriller “The Visit”, followed by other psychological horror movies like “Old” and “Knock at the Cabin”. Universal has also found success with “The Purge” franchise. Elizabeth Banks’ “Cocaine Bear” and “The Marvels” director Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” film both made more than $60 million. And a sequel to “MEGAN” is on the way.
And “The Exorcist” isn’t the only UNI horror movie this October. “Five Nights at Freddy’s”, from powerhouse Blum, is in theaters and on Peacock on Oct. 27.