“Night Swim,” the latest horror film from Blumhouse Productions, distributed by Universal, has made an impressive debut at the U.S. box office, securing second place right after its release. The film, set to premiere in Brazilian cinemas on January 18, collected $5.2 million on its opening day, including previews, with projections pointing towards a total of about $12.5 million over the opening weekend.
With a modest budget of just $15 million before marketing, “Night Swim” marks a solid entry for Blumhouse, which recently merged with Atomic Monster. This release follows the success of “M3GAN,” another production by the studio, which grossed $30 million in its first weekend last year. Although “Night Swim” is not reaching the highest levels of recent releases, it reinforces the strategy of launching horror films early in the year, with the next major genre release, “Imaginary,” scheduled only for March.
The plot of “Night Swim” revolves around a family discovering supernatural aspects of their swimming pool. Directed and written by Bryce McGuire, the film stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon. Despite negative reviews and lukewarm audience reception, awarding the film a “C” grade through Cinema Score, it is common for horror movies to face such reception.
However, “Night Swim” was unable to surpass “Wonka,” which earned $4.3 million on Friday, down just 51% from the previous week. Warner Bros.’ musical starring Timothée Chalamet has now surpassed $150 million in domestic box office and is set to more than quadruple its $39 million opening by the end of the weekend.
Meanwhile, “Migration,” also from Universal, is in third place, adding another $10.5 million, pushing its domestic total to just over $78 million. Warner Bros.’ “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is nearing the $100 million mark in North America, likely becoming the highest-grossing DC Comics film of 2023.
