Nosferatu was here for one reason only: to draw “blood” from the box office. And it has succeeded since its opening on Christmas Day.
Since its Christmas premiere, Nosferatu has successfully bagged $40 million, whereas previously, it delivered $21.6 million in one day; sinisterly good, yes?
But that’s not all. It earned one of the top spaces, joining A24’s Civil War, which had a $25 million opening, and the absolute thriller Longlegs, which had a $22.4 million opening.
Another element that adds to its much-coveted aura is the 26-year gap for setting a new rank for the biggest ticket sales for Christmas launch and weekend haul. The record was last held in 1998 by The Faculty with $4.4 million on opening day and stretching it to $11.6 million till the weekend.
The Faculty was a high-school sci-fi story directed by Robert Rodriguez that has now developed a horror cult of its own. The reason it set the bar high at that time was the absence of any traditional fad of telling horror stories at festive times.
The same still holds true now. Lisa Bunnell, head of distribution at Focus Features said in an interview that when they decided on Christmas to be the opening date for Nosferatu, nobody encouraged it. In fact, the exhibitors “were taken aback” by the opening of “this gothic story on Christmas day”.
However, she was confident that the movie had the capability to deliver itself, and that is how they were able to turn it into an “event”.
How it turned out to be a blast?
The initial expectations for Nosferatu’s opening rested on the projection of $25 million. It was meant to be for 2,992 North American theatres only. Keeping in mind the holiday season when people are free and have plans together, it wasn’t a bizarre occurrence that 40 per cent of the crowd bought tickets online, just one day prior to the opening.
Focus Features reported the above fact along with the rationale for Nosferatu’s grand opening to be the projectionists having a better touchstone for the film’s performance. Patrons bought online tickets way before the opening which measures the number of seats reserved for the final day.
Also, it is almost irresistible to miss Robert Eggers' film, Nosferatu writer, director and co-producer, who gave other big horror hits like The Northman (2022), The Lighthouse (2019) and The Witch (2015).
His films have a peculiarly slow-burning essence that defies conventions. It could be all attributed to his unique storytelling style with insane attention to detail. Even if it is slow, you cannot stop yourself from giving in to the terror.
The cinematic style and visual aesthetics easily grabbed the eyeballs of today’s young audience, as explained by the head of Franchise Entertainment Research, David A. Gross. Although a remake of an old silent horror movie of 1922’s German Dracula classic, the movie synched well with the younger audience- another reason that adds to its positive reviews so far.
Despite the time taken for the movie’s re-imagined version, which was initially planned to premiere in 2015 with Harry Styles as Thomas Hutter, now replaced by Nicholas Hoult, the film came out as a unique blend for modern-day horror fans.
The studio stats regarding the audience on the first weekend opening revealed that 65 per cent were between the ages 18-34 while 54 per cent of them were males. Still, the story wowed the horror buffs, seemingly fresh but meant for an indelible impression on their minds.
Nosferatu earned a rating of 7.8 on IMDb and a 94 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.