“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” set sail with $750,000 in previews on Thursday.
The horror film, which is derived from a transit-heavy chapter of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” screened in 2,350 theaters with showings beginning at 5:00 p.m. It tells the story of the merchant ship that ferried fifty unmarked wooden crates from Carpathia to London. Suffice to say, a sinister presence with a nice set of chompers is lurking in the cargo hold, and is able to make short work of the doomed crew. A similar fate may await “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which doesn’t appear able to muster much of a fight against “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” The horror movie should premiere to an anemic $7 million to $9 million — a disastrous result for the $45 million production. Universal is distributing the DreamWorks Pictures production.
The film stars Corey Hawkins from “Straight Outta Compton” with an ensemble that includes Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham and David Dastmalchian. André Øvredal (“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”) directs the picture. The reviews won’t help “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which currently has a 36% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s been a rough year for Dracula-themed films, with “Renfield,” a horror-comedy about the count’s loyal helper, collapsing at the box office. That movie earned a bloodless $26 million globally.
On the record front, Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” is set to pass $500 million at the domestic box office on Friday. The Greta Gerwig film has already topped $1 billion globally. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is also poised to cross the $250 million mark at the domestic box office this weekend.