So far, this year has been fantastic for horror fans. Although there have been fewer movies in theaters this August, the return of Esther, a familiar face in the horror genre, has helped Orphan: First Kill perform well at the box office. Paramount also gave the 2009 cult classic’s prequel a limited theatrical release in addition to the weekend’s digital and Paramount+ debuts. The opening weekend of First Kill, which only played in 498 theaters, brought in $1.67 million.
Although that may appear to be a low number, it is not accurate to compare this terrifying prequel to the majority of the major horror films that have been released recently or to the original film that was so shocking. The first film in the Orphan franchise was given a wide theatrical release in 3743 theaters and made $12.8 million in its first weekend of release, which is comparable to the success of most modern horror movies. It is difficult to believe that First Kill would not have at least matched that number if it had received a full theatrical release in the United States. In particular, taking into consideration the widespread appeal of the first version. Orphan would go on to make $77.9 million at the box office, while First Kill is currently sitting at $2.19 million at the worldwide box office. This sum does not take into account the revenue that was made by the prequel through home rental services such as VUDU.
From these numbers, one can deduce a great deal of information about a variety of topics. The fact that audiences were willing to watch this bloodthirsty horror story in theaters despite the fact that it could be viewed in the convenience of one’s own home is primarily responsible for this phenomenon. It can be argued that Esther deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of modern horror villains, and the fact that the first movie’s box office performance was so successful should at least indicate how good that movie was. However, First Kill was also helped by the fact that it has gotten great word-of-mouth. This is an important factor. As things stand right now, this delightfully entertaining prequel has been given a better reception and received more favorable reviews than the first installment of the Orphan series.
