S Poddar
The latest horror thriller of James McAvoy, Speak No Evil, has outdone itself as a big hit at the North American box office. The movie entered theaters on September 13, 2024, and on that opening day it collected more than $4 million, thus surpassing the performance of every other new release during the weekend, and very soon became a crowd-pleaser.
The film premiered across America and Canada where it competed against other notable films: an action-comedy called The Killer’s Game starring Dave Bautista and a prank-filled Am I Racist? starring Matt Walsh. And even under intense competition, Speak No Evil managed to edge ahead to take the title of top box office new release.
Produced by Blumhouse Productions, one of its financiers being Universal, it was made for $15 million. According to Deadline, this disturbing thriller brought in a domestic total of $4.9 million from the end of opening day. Coming in are projections that the movie is on its way to take in a weekend total between $10 million and $13 million.
What gives Speak No Evil that edge is its ability not only to lead new releases but also to claim second place overall at the domestic box office. In the box office performance category, it was beaten by only one film at the top–Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which continued on top with a healthy $14 million take for its second Friday of release. *Am I Racist?
With Matt Walsh doing pranks for some of his scenes at the bottom, featured third. Deadpool and Wolverine made $1.4 million at the box office on Friday which didn’t help them move higher up in the ratings. If one agrees that Speak No Evil was a success on every level, then the fact that the film could collect good box office funds is not the only reason for this but also due to positive evaluation from the critics and general audiences. It’s a remake of the 2022 Danish thriller of the same name, directed by James Watkins. Something that drew this film apart has been its fresh take on original material impressing an audience.
Movie has impressed critics as well as the audience. It has an impressive score of 85% from the former and 84% from the latter on Rotten Tomatoes, as nearly everyone approves of the movie.
It is fascinating to see how Watkins teases out new themes, cultural nuances, and endings with a whole new set of characters placed within this premise. And yet, as The Tribune review puts it, ‘it remains a thrill to watch it play out in its own way’; the director does his best at interlacing different issues, cultural elements, and characters to create an entirely new film from the previous one.
Although Speak No Evil is a horror film in which McAvoy once again proves able to command the attention of audience members, it also harks back to an earlier experience where this actor successfully navigated the horror genre. Integrating the psychological tension into the eerie atmosphere has gone well with horror fans, therefore sealing McAvoy’s position as a leading man in mainstream and genre films.
While Speak No Evil entered the box office with a great fray, it has prepared the field for further growth in the subsequent weeks. It will continue to attract crowds as there are positive critical reviews and excellent recommendations by word of mouth. If it can sustain this pace, then this will be a Big success story for Blumhouse Productions; from building a reputation for quality horror movies, with low budgeting.
That date, Speak No Evil is still playing in cinema houses all over North America, offering horror movie fans and adrenaline junkies a few opportunities to see the newest frightful piece of entertainment. With the lead performance from McAvoy and Watkins at the helm of direction, this film has become one not to be missed, to which the new generation is drawn as well as old-timers who are looking for a thrilling cinematic experience. In summary, Speak No Evil is quite obviously coming out of the gate as a contender at the box office, considering how hard it fought to stay afloat on opening weekend with the market this competitive. With high earnings, positive reviews, and a committed following, it looks set to run the course through theaters with growing momentum.
