Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Doctor Sleep

Stephen King Responds To Doctor Sleep Bombing At Box Office

Over the weekend, Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan's most recent Stephen King adaptation, bombed at the box office, and the author has now weighed in.
This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

“I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow the box office down,” yells the ghost of Jack Torrence in Doctor Sleep, the sequel to everyone’s favorite haunted hotel romp, The Shining. I’m actually guessing on that, as I didn’t see it. And ya know what? Not many people did overall.

Recommended Videos

Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s not-awaited sequel didn’t exactly blow the lid off the box office, only earning a paltry $14 million and falling behind Midway for the top spot. Now, King has spoken out in light of the dull reception.

On Twitter, there was a chain started after a Variety article claimed that the recent run of good Stephen King adaptations stopped with Doctor Sleep. Many jumped to the film’s defense, including the author himself:

Doctor Sleep

The reviews for Doctor Sleep are mixed, with the film sitting at a 60 on Metacritic. Our own Matt Donato didn’t enjoy it that much, either. The general consensus seems to be that it’s too much of a shallow Kubrick imitation to really stand on its own, along with being an utterly unnecessary sequel of a property that many folks wish would have been left alone. I mean, there’s already two adaptations of the original out there anyway.

Also, I kinda think It: Chapter 2 may or may not have ended the “good” King adaptation streak this summer. For what it’s worth, turning one of his novels into a movie is a hit-or-miss venture, almost (almost) regardless of the cast and crew at hand. Good people have made bad movies, and bad people have made good movies. Flanagan is obviously a more-than-competent filmmaker, but his over reliance on the past may be his downfall, almost like a King protagonist proper.

In any case, Doctor Sleep, much like the boiler in the original The Shining novel and King’s preferred miniseries, bombed, destroying the future of the Overlook Hotel. Maybe it’s for the best, though. King himself even once wrote, in a different book: “Sometimes, dead is better.”


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy