‘Evil Dead Burn’ Experiences One of the Franchise’s Worst Openings in Decades

Horror has quietly emerged as one of the top-performing genres at the box office this year, with original titles transforming into cultural phenomena and studios eager to capitalize on that success. This context made the release of a new ‘Evil Dead’ film seem like a safe bet for the summer.

‘Evil Dead Burn’ is the sixth installment in the iconic franchise, directed by Sébastien Vaniček and produced by genre legends Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert. Pre-release tracking suggested the film could earn between $25 million and $35 million domestically, which would have set a new franchise record.

However, that optimism quickly faded once the actual opening weekend numbers came in. ‘Evil Dead Burn’ debuted far below expectations, with estimates showing just $13.7 million from 3,004 theaters, a result that surprised many in the industry.

This figure falls approximately $10 million short of the 2023 release ‘Evil Dead Rise,’ which opened to $24.5 million and went on to gross $147 million worldwide. It also lags behind the $25.8 million opening of the franchise’s 2013 reboot. For a series that had been gaining momentum with each new release, this marks its lowest opening weekend in over thirty years.

Internationally, the film did not fare much better, adding around $13.3 million for a total worldwide opening of about $27 million. With a production budget of around $20 million, the situation is not disastrous, but such a significant miss against projections is still a blow for Warner Bros. and New Line.

The disappointment can be attributed to the unpredictability of the weekend. Several factors were suggested as possible reasons, including unusually pleasant weather across much of the country drawing people outdoors and the ongoing FIFA World Cup competing for attention, though no single factor fully explains the shortfall.

‘Evil Dead Burn’ features performances from Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, and Hunter Doohan, with Vaniček taking the director’s role after his spider horror debut caught Raimi’s eye. Those who attended the film gave it a respectable B CinemaScore, indicating that the film itself may not be the issue but rather the challenge of attracting audiences to theaters.

This distinction is important because horror films often see front-loaded openings, meaning that films like this typically finish with total earnings between two and three times their debut number. The bigger concern is the timing, as Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ is set to hit theaters next weekend and is expected to dominate the box office, leaving ‘Evil Dead Burn’ little chance to gain traction before its second weekend numbers likely take a significant hit.

Despite this rocky start, the franchise is far from over. Warner Bros. has already greenlit a seventh installment, ‘Evil Dead Wrath,’ with writer-director Francis Galluppi attached and a 2028 release date set, indicating that the studio still sees long-term potential in the property even after a shaky opening.

‘Evil Dead Burn’ also shared its opening weekend with Disney’s live-action ‘Moana’ remake, another high-profile release that fell short of projections, resulting in one of the more uneven weekends at the box office this summer. Whether ‘Evil Dead Burn’ can recover through positive word of mouth in the coming days remains to be seen.

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