Warner Bros. was reportedly so hopeful that The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep would be a big hit that they booked director Mike Flanagan to make a third film set in the Stephen King-created world. Unfortunately for the studio, Doctor Sleep was a major disappointment, only grossing $14.1 million and missing estimates this past weekend. Flanagan is best known for helming Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House and is now working on the follow-up, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. chief Toby Emmerich struck a deal with Flanagan and his Intrepid Pictures to start developing a sequel centered on Hallorann, the head chef of the Overlook Hotel. Scatman Crothers played the role in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, while Carly Lumbly played the part in Doctor Sleep.
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Doctor Sleep was expected to make $25-$30 million this weekend, especially after it earned strong reviews and featured a marketing campaign that went above and beyond to build a connection with the 1980 Kubrick movie. However, it flopped. Some analysts believe the movie’s 151-minute length could be to blame, and that younger audiences were just not familiar enough with the earlier film.
“The Shining, despite being a cult classic, just doesn’t have traction with younger audiences. Thirty-nine years was just too long between sequels,” Exhibitor Relations’ Jeff Bock told THR.
“I thought Doctor Sleep would do well. The types of films out this weekend seemed like good fits for the schedule, including even Playing With Fire, which has no competition in the family film category,” Wall Street analyst Eric Handler added. “Are people only looking for blockbusters right now?”
Those still looking for more work from Flanagan do not have to wait too long. The Haunting of Bly Manor, which will star several Hill House actors in different roles, is expected to be up on Netflix in 2020.
Hollywood woke up Monday morning looking at disappointing box office returns across the board, notes Box Office Mojo. Roland Emmerich’s $100 million epic Midway, released by Lionsgate, won the weekend, but it only grossed $17.5 million. Paramount’s Playing With Fire, starring John Cena, came in third with $12.8 million.
Universal’s Last Christmas came in fourth with $11.6 million. That is about what was expected, as the film is likely looking to play well in the long run. The holiday movie has more than a month to live in theaters before Christmas.
Paramount’s Terminator: Dark Fate fell 63 percent in its second weekend to just $10.8 million. It has only made $48.45 million domestically. The only positive for Paramount is that it has made $150.9 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to just shy of $200 million. However, that’s still not good for a movie that reportedly cost almost $200 million to make.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
