Even with a very popular actor (Stranger Things David Harbour), a “fresh” Tomatometer rating, and a high audience score, the newly released Violent Night just couldn’t muster up enough holiday cheer to stave off the blockbuster monster that is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The Black Panther sequel brought in an additional $17.59 million in its fourth week in theaters bringing it to a stunning total of $733 million worldwide. Violent Night was also bested by the hybrid release of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which made $15 million last week despite only playing in 600 theaters. It begins streaming on Netflix Dec. 23.
The $13.3 million pulled in by Violent Night was actually slightly above studio projections of between $10 and $12 million, according to Deadline, so it isn’t all bad news. Universal Domestic Distribution Chief Jim Orr said that the numbers bode well for the future of the movie in its theatrical run, calling it “terrific.”
“Violent Night had a terrific debut this weekend. 87North, director Tommy Wirkola, and the incomparable David Harbour as Santa crafted an incredibly original, fun, irreverent take on the ultimate superhero that thrilled audiences this weekend and will for many weeks to come.”
The first weekend in December is typically one of the slowest of the year, even before the industry’s pandemic woes. The $56.4 million total take for all movies is the 8th lowest weekend of the year. The lowest belongs to the Jan. 28-30 weekend when the Sony Spider-Man spin-off Morbius was released.
This doesn’t mean that Harbour didn’t help the numbers. RelishMix, a digital social tracking company for movies, said 32% of people who came to see the movie said it was because of the actor. Another 40% said it was because Violent Night was an action horror movie.
“David Harbour is the hot-trending theme in much of the chatter on Violent Night, and bringing his Stranger Things audience to the comments. Fans are [comparing] the movie to Nobody, Bullet Train, Bad Santa, of course, with Billy Bob Thornton, plus Die Hard — and more recent horror, Smile and Halloween Ends. The tone runs predominantly positive-to-mixed, as fans are happy to have a dark, non-cheesy film to drop into during the nightmare of the season of merriment.’”
Harbour also promoted the movie on his Instagram page, calling the movie “a special experience in a dark theater with a crowd. It’s a riot, full of action goodness a big beating (in more ways than one) heart. I’m so excited for you to see it. Seasons beatings to you all.”
Violent Night is currently in theaters. You can read our review here.