The film centers on a group of criminals who kidnap a 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure. To collect a $50 million ransom, all they have to do is watch the girl overnight in an isolated mansion. However, they soon discover that they’re locked inside with a very abnormal (and deadly) little girl. The cast includes Melissa Barrera (“Scream”), Dan Stevens (“Legion”), Kathryn Newton (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”), William Catlett (“Black Lightning”), Kevin Durand (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), the late Angus Cloud (“Euphoria”), and Alisha Weir (“Matilda the Musical”).
Universal has tried very hard to make vampires work cinematically as of late. Last year, the studio suffered not one but two very high-profile flops involving Dracula. “Renfield,” which starred Nicolas Cage as the famed vampire, topped out at just $27 million against a $65 million budget. Similarly, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” topped out at just shy of $22 million against a $45 million budget. Both were very costly, radically different takes on the genre. The hope, then, is that “Abigail” is different and unique enough to pique the interest of moviegoers on a larger scale.
As far as comparisons go, if it opens around $12 million, it would be in the same neighborhood as Blumhouse’s “Night Swim,” which topped out at $54 million worldwide earlier this year. If it opens closer to $22 million, it could do “Evil Dead Rise” numbers, with that film having topped out at $147 million worldwide last year. The big unknown factor right now is the budget, but one assumes Universal kept this in the same range as Radio Silence’s other recent hits. “Scream VI,” for example, cost $35 million. Anything over $40 million would make things tricky. We’ll see where the chips fall soon enough.
“Abigail” hits theaters on April 19, 2024.