There are now two video game movies in theaters at the same time, as Sony’s Until Dawn movie debuted on April 25, joining A Minecraft Movie. How well did Until Dawn do? Nowhere near as well as A Minecraft Movie–but it was never expected to.
The Until Dawn Movie brought in $8 million in the US and $10 million from international markets for a global start of $18 million. The movie was said to have a production budget of $15 million (before marketing and other costs). The $8 million from the US is on the low end of expectations, however, as it was expected to make between $8 million and $10 million.
For comparison, A Minecraft Movie made $22.7 million in theaters in the US alone this past weekend. It’s now generated more than $800 million worldwide.
One of the talking points surrounding Sony’s Until Dawn movie was that the game’s original writers, Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick, are not credited for the movie. Fessenden told The Hollywood Reporter that there is “no courtesy in show biz,” but he was still surprised to not see his name anywhere in the credits.
Fessenden and Reznick pitched an Until Dawn movie to Sony years ago, comparing it to Brainscan and New Nightmare. However, Sony didn’t sign off, and ultimately Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman were hired to write the version of Until Dawn that’s in theaters now.
It’s not an adaptation of the game’s story but instead features a different set of characters and a new location, with the exception of Peter Stormare’s character coming back. The movie also features a time loop mechanic, which the game did not have.
Until Dawn was directed by Shazam 2’s David F. Sandberg. He said he was initially unsure about making another IP-based movie after the negative reaction to his DC movie, which led to death threats.
