X-Files Producer Blames The Dark Knight

I feel bad for X-Files fans. I really do. Having never been a follower of the show, I can't say I was very emotionally invested when the sequel no one was asking for, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, pulled a Hindenberg at the box office last summer, raking in a meager $21 million domestic against a $30 million budget. In fact, I would've been surprised by any other outcome.

But this week, Chris Carter's co-producer and co-writer Frank Spotnitz added salt to the wound by going on a delusional rant in an interview with the Toronto Sun. See, it wasn't X-Files' fault that no one came out to see the flick. Whose fault was it? Why, Batman's, of course:

"Our theatrical performance this past summer notwithstanding, I think The X-Files is still a natural for theatrical release. We just opened the wrong week. The week after The Dark Knight, I think, was just not the right week for us.

"I think it was especially brutal to us because we weren't counter-programming. We weren't Mamma Mia! or Step Brothers. We were a little dark scary movie coming in the fumes, in the exhaust, of this mammoth machine that was The Dark Knight. And I don't think we had a chance!"

See, kids? It had nothing to do with the ill will generated among the fan base by a disastrous final season on television. Or with the ten year gap since the last X-Files movie, which made almost ten times as much. Or with the X-Files' almost complete disappearance from the popular consciousness since the series ended. Or with the decision not to make the film about the main storyline that the fans actually cared about. Or with the fact that The Dark Knight was one of the best-reviewed movies of the year, and I Want to Believe...wasn't.

No, they just picked the wrong weekend. I'm sure X-Files 3: The Search for an Audience will do much better.

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For those who may not yet be aware, the Vault is now firmly entrenched in both of those modern bastions of vain frivolity, MySpace and Facebook. So, should you be so inclined, feel free to stop by and feed my ravenous ego by adding the VoH as a close and personal friend. Take care now!

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Horror Holds Its Own Against the Man with the Hat and the Mother of All Chick Flicks

You can call The Strangers the Rocky Balboa of Memorial Day. Going into one of the most hotly contested weekends of the year, the horror flick "went the distance", pulling in highly respectable numbers against the steamrolling Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (in its second week) and the highly anticipated Sex and the City opening.

Although The Strangers came in third behind both of those blockbusters (which was, of course, inevitable) it pulled in twice what the so-called pundits predicted, scoring a cool $20.7 million. Carrie Bradshaw and the rest of her henhouse ruled the roost with a boffo $55.7 million premiere, while Indy took in $46 million. With so many flocking to Sex and the City in its first weekend, and the Harrison Ford behemoth still raking in audiences, it truly is remarkable that so many people opted to see the Liv Tyler/Scott Speedman home invasion chiller.

Following the impressive numbers for Prom Night, and with M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening on the horizon, 2008 is looking to be a very good year for the horror genre, from a box office point of view. Which is encouraging, since horror is not usually the go-to genre when it comes to dollars and cents. Studios take note: there is a large audience out there for quality fright films (Prom Night notwithstanding).

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Forget About a Wide Release for Romero

Well, it looks like I'm going to be making that 35-mile trek down to New Rochelle after all. George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead has taken in $225,000 in 42 theaters over it's opening limited-release weekend. That breaks down to a minimally respectable $5,357.14 per-screen average. Not too bad for a small-budget horror film, but keep in mind that's about $300 per screening, which isn't all that great, either. Especially for a movie by a cult favorite director like Romero. The bottom line is that it doesn't appear as though the film will be getting that wide release after all.
So why didn't enough of you get out there to support this flick in the towns in which it was released? I guess one of the reasons may be Land of the Dead's tepid reception in the fan community. There's also the DVD factor--a lot of people out there just aren't motivated enough to see a movie like this in the theater. That leads me to draw the sad conclusion that there may not be enough died-in-the-wool Romero supporters left out there to make a theatrical release worthwhile. I guess everyone's saving up their dough for Saw XXVII. Too bad.
As for me, I'll be hopping in the Solomobile Thursday night for the big trip to Westchester. Wish me luck!

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Box Office Legend

I don't usually like to go ga-ga over box office news (I'm more the high-minded aesthetic type...) but it's worth a mention that Will Smith's I Am Legend raked in an astronomical $76.5 million over the weekend. It's the biggest December opener of all time, topping 2003's The Return of the King. Critical and fan opinion may be divided on the flick, but it is nice to see a horror piece at the top of the heap in such a big way. For those who couldn't get out to the theater, you can check out the opening scene of the movie right here. By the way, in case you were wondering, that is a shot of one of the vampires in the film. Hmmm.....

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Thanks to all who voted in the '80s horror icon poll. The Vault of Horror would like to congratulate the one and only Jason Voorhees, who trounced the competition with 37% of the vote. Fellow stalker Michael Myers trailed in second with 24%, followed by the incomparable Pinhead with 20%. And in a shocker, poor Freddy Kreuger--who would've gotten my vote--floundered in last place with a mere 18%. Be sure to vote in the new poll, which continues the theme, as you can see.

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