Mike Flanaganhas proven himself to be a longtime fan of Stephen King, but the director’s latest adaptation of the writer’s work has struggled to connect at the box office despite being critically acclaimed. WithFlanagan well-known for his Netflixhorror adaptations, includingMidnight MassandThe Haunting of Hill House, the director seemed to step out of his comfort zone with his new movie, a heartwarming science-fiction drama. While the film has gone on to reap accolades, with some even hinting at future Oscar nominations,it has so far struggled to succeed financially.
The new film is the third that Flanagan has made based on King’s writings.Stephen King himself has praised Flanagan’s work, which is in itself an excellent accolade. The author has long shared honest opinions on adaptations of his works, and famously does not love all of them, including Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining. Fortunately,it seems that King and Flanagan have a healthy respect for one another. Unfortunately, while this has been creatively successful, it may not be a financially viable partnership.
The Budget Is Currently Unknown
Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuckexpanded to a wide release this past weekend, and did not make much of an impact. According toDeadline, after one week of limited release and three days of rolling out nationwide,the film has only been able to reap a total of $2.4 milliondomestically. This performance is staggering and places the film’s past weekend, at its widest opening yet, behind evenFinal Destination Bloodlines’ fifth weekend. With $2.1 million earned domestically during this three-day period,The Life of Chuckwas the ninth-highest-grossing movie of the weekend.
DID YOU KNOW:The Life of Chuckopened in wide release behind the third weekend gross ofThe Phoenician Schemeand just above a $1.47 million ninth weekend forSinners, which is already available on VOD.
It is unclear how significant a failure this is at the box office.While these numbers are not strong, the budget for the movie has not been reported.Still, NEON bought the rights to the movie after its release at TIFF last year, when the film’s future looked especially bright, and they likely paid more than this to acquire the film. Pushing the release into the next calendar year was a strange choice, but the move suggested that the studio believedThe Life of Chuckhad at least decent box office potential. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be playing out as hoped.
Flanagan previously directed a sequel toThe ShiningwithDoctor Sleep, and the film also failed to connect at the box office. Made for $45 million,Doctor Sleepwas only able to reap a total of $72 million worldwide, with only $31 million of that coming from domestic audiences.The film was mostly liked by both audiences and critics, earningRotten Tomatoesscores of 89% and 78% respectively, but this did not translate to financial success. It is possible that Flanagan’s streaming background may have been a factor here.
Notably,Doctor Sleepwas released only two months afterIt: Chapter Two.While the firstItfilm was an enormous success, and the second was able to make $473 million in cinemas, the sequel was considered by many to be a massive step-down in quality from the first film. This likely tempered interest in another King adaptation coming so soon after inDoctor Sleep.
The first feature film Flanagan made based on a work by King wasGerald’s Game, a small, taut thriller that was released in 2017 on Netflix. The film was well-received on the streamer, andhelped to launch Flanagan as a mainstay on the service.Since then, audiences have grown familiar with his work on Netflix, includingThe Haunting of Bly ManorandThe Fall of the House of Usher. With regular Flanagan releases sent straight to streaming, the director’s work may not feel as necessary to be seen in cinemas.
Does The Poor Box Office Hurt The Life Of Chuck’s Award Chances?
The Oscar Buzz Started Early
The Life of Chuckwon the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024, which has tended to be a harbinger of Academy Award success. The People’s Choice winner every year since 2012 has been nominated forBest Picture at the Oscars, andmany of those films, includingNomadlandandGreen Book, have gone on to win the biggest prize.Unfortunately, the poor box office performance ofThe Life of Chuckmay be a factor that inhibits the new movie’s chances at next year’s ceremony.
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Awards season is a notable time in the year, and recency bias is huge with awards body voters, including those at the Academy. While financial impact is generally not a huge factor, as some of thelowest-grossing movies have won Best Picture,the combination of these factors may inhibitThe Life of Chuck’s chances.Most People’s Choice winners go on to have releases shortly after their TIFF screening, allowing them to ride the anticipation built from that award. Unfortunately,The Life of Chuckdid not do this, and it may be to the film’s detriment.
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Most of Mike Flanagan’s projects have been horror-focused, and the director has become known for a very specific, very unique brand of the genre. Rather than focusing on shock value, Flanagan’s take on horror has been more cerebral and character-focused.His stories on Netflix have connected with audiences because they have had the space to burn slowly, and to be enjoyed episode by episode at the viewer’s own pace. Following this, future Flanagan projects, includinga series based on Stephen King’sCarrie, look likely to be more successful than his films.
Horror does well at the multiplex, butauteur-driven horror is harder to sell, especially as Flanagan’s projects have been promoted on their storytelling quality rather than their thrills. Recenthorror movieslikeFinal Destination Bloodlineshave delivered spectacle, whereas Flanagan’s stories have felt less like events and experiences and more like slow-burn, high-quality stories.PromotingThe Life of Chuck, which is not a horror movie, despite coming from both a director and a writer who are famous for their horror adaptations, is a difficult task, and it appears not to have worked out in this case.
Why The Life Of Chuck’s Poor Box Office Isn’t Total Doom
Mike Flanagan’s Works Perform Well On Streaming, Including Doctor Sleep
The Life of Chuckcould still become an awards player, and this would help bolster the film’s viewership and could even prompt a re-release.The Life of Chucknever seemed set to be a huge hit at the box office, andNEON’s expectations were likely not astronomically high.While the studio surely hoped that it would perform closer to their hits likeParasiteandLonglegs, they also have a great focus on prestige, and the quality ofChuckcan add to this. With the bulk of the studio’s releases making less than $10 million,Chuckis among good company.
Fortunately,Chuckwill also be able to be a hit on digital. With Flanagan’s popularity on Netflix,the film will certainly be able to secure a handy paycheck for streaming rights.Movieswith glowing reviews likeDoctor Sleepwere able to find their audience there and, with great reviews of its own, it is certain thatChuckwill also be able to find an audience eventually. While this release does not seem to have panned out as hoped for, the quality of the film is very high, and that will be enough to push it to a streaming success eventually.
It is disappointing thatThe Life of Chuckhas failed to connect with audiences at the cinema, reaping a very disappointing box office for NEON. However, more than anything,this release speaks to the importance of capitalizing on the initial excitement behind a film.IfThe Life ofChuckhad been released late last year, it would have been able to build on the anticipation that came from the movie’s TIFF win and parley that into a better run at the multiplex through awards season. Hopefully, the next TIFF People’s Choice Award winner will not make the same mistake.
