Director M. Night Shyamalan’s newest twisty thriller “Knock at the Cabin” is barging into its opening weekend with $1.45 million in previews at the domestic box office.
The previews came from from 3,000 domestic theaters, and the film will expand to 3,643 locations on Friday. Shyamalan’s most recent movie, 2021’s “Old,” opened slightly higher with $1.5 million in previews.
“Knock at the Cabin” is predicted to open between $15 million and $20 million, which may be just enough to dethrone James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which has sat atop box office charts for seven straight weeks. Dating back to its release in mid December, “The Way of Water” has been a box office juggernaut and recently cracked the top 10 highest-grossing domestic releases of all time, but Shyamalan’s newest film may knock it out of first place for once.
Starring Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, Ben Aldridge, Rupert Grint and more, “Knock at the Cabin” follows three family members who are camping in the woods and are suddenly interrupted by four strangers with visions of an impending apocalypse. The only way to prevent the end of the world, they claim, is to have the family willingly kill one of their own. Unsure what to believe, the family must grapple with this life-changing decision as the intruders’ visions of doomsday seemingly begin to come true.
Shyamalan’s previous movie, “Old,” grossed $16.8 million over its first weekend. “Old,” about a mysterious beach that drastically aged people, marked the lowest opening of Shyamalan’s career. With a small budget that was self-financed by the director, “Knock at the Cabin” only cost $20 million to produce. It will also go up against the octogenarian sports comedy “80 for Brady,” which is targeting a $10 million opening.