The next six months will define the future of vampire movies after years of box office flops

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The next six months will define the future of vampire movies after years of box office flops

After a disappointing few years, the vampire sub-genre of horror is at a crossroads with three high-profile movies on the horizon Nosferatu, Salem’s placeAnd Sinners. Vampire movies have evolved over the years, ranging from the gothic horror of Bela Lugosi. dracula, to the fancy romance of Twilight. In recent years, there have been a number of satirical vampire projects, including highly rated television shows. What we do in the shadows And Reginald the Vampire Along with some comedy-horror movies too.

However, many of the most prominently featured movies of recent years have been major disappointments, either with critics, at the box office, or both. This could signal a major shift in how the best vampire movies are positioned and what type of audience they are targeted at. Vampires are so ingrained in global culture that the horror sub-genre will never go away completely, but a major shift in strategy may be necessary. Fortunately, the three big vampire movies coming out in the next six months represent a departure from the recent norm.

The next six months can make vampires scary again

These three high-profile upcoming movies restore vampires to their horror roots


Michael B. Jordan bleeding and looking upset at sinners

After several years of satire at the forefront, the three big vampire movies that will be released in the next six months can really bring terror back to the vampire sub-genre. First is the Salem’s place remake, which will stream exclusively on Max on October 3, 2024. Many horror fans consider Stephen King’s Salem’s place To be among his most terrifying novels, and the original 1979 film adaptation is considered a horror classic. The trailer for the 2024 Salem’s place Proves that it will be dialing up the horror elements of King’s original work.

Robert Eggers Nosferatu is a remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name by FW Murnau. The original Nosferatu was based loosely on Bram Stoker’s original Dracula novel from 1893, and it is considered to be one of the foundational movies in not only the vampire sub-genre, but in all of horror. Egger’s filmography is short, but each of his films dripped with fear; With a rich baseline of source material to work off of and shout king Bill SkÃ¥rsgard in the role of Count Orlok, the trend is sure to continue.

The trailer for Sinners Provided a look at the only completely original high-profile vampire movie to hit theaters in the near future. The original screenplay by director Ryan Cogler looks set to pit Michael B. Jordan against vampires that borrow from the lore of the American South, with heavy African and voodoo influences. It’s Ryan Coogler’s first foray into horror, but it’s clear that the vampires are not to be taken lightly. Each of these three major movies will treat vampires as the blood-sucking terrors they have been depicted as in traditional lore around the world.

How recent vampire movies have failed at the box office

Low quality and poor word-of-mouth spelled doom

Although there have been many high-quality vampire movies loved by horror fans over the decades since Nosferatu First off, the last few years have yielded more big-budget disappointments than hits. In just the last two years, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, RenfieldAnd Abigail have all been box office misses, and while Abigail Receiving positive reviews from critics and moviegoers, the other two were resounding critical failures. Each movie was based in part on the original Dracula story, and has significant star power attached to it.

Recent high-profile vampire movies

Movie

Budget

Box Office gross

RT tomatometer score

RT popcornmeter score

Renfield

$65 million

$26.9 million

58%

79%

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

$45 million

$21.8 million

50%

75%

Abigail

$28 million

$42.4 million

83%

85%

Abigail was certified fresh on Rotten tomatoesAnd technically the only movie to come close to being profitable; A movie needs to at least double its budget to be considered a success, which it obviously didn’t do. Interestingly, each of the three movies achieved an RT Popcornmeter score higher than 75%. The Popcornmeter score is an indicator of what fans think of a movie versus critics, so it means that those who have actually seen the movies appreciate them. This may be a sign of how significant the appetite for vampire movies is, which bodes well.

What the outlook for Salem’s site, Nosfertu and Sinners is

There is reason for optimism for all three

All three of these upcoming vampire movies have strong potential for success by any metric. Sinners Appears to have the highest box office potential, as the combination of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan has been box office gold in the past. Michael B. Jordan is the biggest star in any of the three movies, and Ryan Coogler has legitimate box office appeal on his own. Add to that the fact that it is a completely original screenplay with a highly original plot and setting, and Sinners Could be a true box office smash in addition to a critical hit.

All Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan director/actor collaborations

Movie

Release date

Budget

Box Office gross

RT tomatometer score

RT popcornmeter score

Fruitvale Station

2013

$900K

$17.1 million

94%

87%

Creed

2015

$40 million

$173.6 million

95%

89%

Black Panther

2018

$200 million

$1.35 billion

96%

79%

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

2022

$225 million

$859.2 million

84%

94%

Nasfert, On the other hand, May follows the trend of Eggers’ recent movies in being a critical success, but missing the mark at the box office. Each of Eggers’ three feature films has scored 90% or better on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, and it’s a near guarantee that Nosferatu will be of similar quality given Eggers’ attention to period detail and transcendent direction. Salem’s Lot has a great chance of streaming success, as it could find a much larger audience on Macs than in theaters.

What is the future of vampire movies beyond Salem’s lot, Nosferatu and Sinners?

It may depend on how they perform


Group of people in a bar preparing to fight in sinners

The future of vampire movies may come down to how the big three movies perform at the box office. If Sinners And Nosferatu Can find their way to legitimate profitability, it could inspire studios to continue putting effort behind bigger-budget vampire movies. The same goes for Salem’s place; If it’s a streaming hit, it could open the door for more high-quality vampire projects to find a home on streaming platforms.

While the creative minds of Hollywood (and beyond) will no doubt continue to look for alternative ways to tell stories with the familiar vampire tropes, the success of three straightforward, scary vampire stories may encourage future projects to move in that direction/

The tone of future vampire movies may also depend on the performance of these three movies. While the creative minds of Hollywood (and beyond) will no doubt keep looking for alternative ways to tell stories with familiar vampire tropes, the success of three straightforward, scary vampire stories may encourage future projects to move in that direction. Sinners In particular could be a difference-maker to the genre because of its unusual horror setting and what projects to its heavy metaphorical content.

Source: Rotten tomatoes

Two brothers return to their hometown in the Jim Crow South, looking for a fresh start, only to find that an even greater evil, including the Ku Klux Klan, has taken root. Michael B. Jordan stars as twins in this vampire thriller directed by Ryan Coogler, blending supernatural horror with historical suspense.

Director

Ryan Cogler

Release date

March 7, 2025

Writers

Ryan Cogler

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