{"id":8048,"date":"2017-09-28T23:17:03","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T03:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/?p=8048"},"modified":"2018-06-28T13:34:23","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T17:34:23","slug":"math-or-why-sony-is-smart-to-keep-churning-out-horror-remakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/math-or-why-sony-is-smart-to-keep-churning-out-horror-remakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Math, Or Why Sony Is Smart to Keep Churning Out Horror Remakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekend will see a lot of people saying aloud or to themselves, \u201cThey remade Flatliners<\/i>?\u201d That same question will resurface in a few months when it\u2019s released on home video, and then the film will most likely never be spoken of again. While it should eventually recoup its low $20 million budget (plus marketing costs), it will most likely be used as another example of audiences\u2019 supposed rejection of reboots, remakes, and sequels.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why would Sony\/Columbia even produce a remake of a middling sci-fi\/horror thriller from nearly three decades ago? First, there\u2019s always a chance it could catch on with audiences. (It won\u2019t, but a chance is a chance, and more studios should follow suit with reasonably budgeted films.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Second, the studio\u2019s history with genre remakes suggests it\u2019s actually a winning formula. Sony\/Columbia\/Screen Gems has produced 13 horror remakes over the years, and while the general perception is that remakes are bad business, the numbers suggest otherwise. (That still won\u2019t help Flatliners<\/i>, though.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Blob<\/em> (1988)<\/span><\/h3>\n

The studio\u2019s first venture into horror-remake territory could very well have been its last. It easily outgrossed the 1958 original, but that\u2019s hardly a brag-worthy feat. Chuck Russell\u2019s fun creature feature, starring Kevin Dillon in the Steve McQueen role (obviously), earned $8 million on a $28 million cost ($19 million budget x 1.5 multiplier for marketing expenses), making it a bomb by anyone\u2019s standards. [Loser]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Sony\u2019s horror remake ledger: -$20 million<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Night of the Living Dead<\/em> (1990)<\/span><\/h3>\n

George Romero\u2019s 1968 classic was a monster hit relative to the cost, but it remains a lesson for filmmakers in ensuring they have lawyers look over the contracts. Romero never benefited directly from the film\u2019s financial success, but happily it still gave him a career. Romero was (presumably) paid better for Tom Savini\u2019s remake, but the film earned far less than the original and essentially broke even, making back its $6 million expenses. [n\/a]
\n<\/em><\/span>Ledger: -$20 million<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Godzilla (1998)<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Sony\u2019s big break in monster remakes came with Roland Emmerich\u2019s Godzilla<\/i>. The film is fairly derided as a goof, especially in comparison to the beast\u2019s more recent big-screen appearance, but it succeeded where it counts as far as the studio\u2019s concerned. Its $379 million worldwide gross against a $195 million cost may not have been a massive success, but it brought them into the black in regard to horror remakes. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$164 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Grudge<\/em> (2004)<\/span><\/h3>\n

This was one of the first remakes of a modern Japanese horror classic, and it\u2019s one of the reasons (along with The Ring<\/i>) that studios keep making them. It earned a whopping $187 million worldwide on a budget of a measly $15 million, and it proved every bit the success of the far more expensive Godzilla<\/i>. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$336 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Fog<\/em> (2005)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Remakes of John Carpenter\u2019s films are dangerous business, and while some are harmless (Assault on Precinct 13<\/i>) and others are divisive (Halloween<\/i>), the entire world agrees that Rupert Wainwright\u2019s remake of Carpenter\u2019s 1980 gem is a crime against cinema and precipitation patterns in general. The original earned nearly 20 times its budget, and that\u2019s a feat the remake couldn\u2019t match. Still, though, it did manage $46 million against a $27 million cost, so while it\u2019s reviled, it at least made some money. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$355 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

When a Stranger Calls<\/em> (2006)<\/span><\/h3>\n

The 1976 original, starring Carol Kane, remains one of the creepiest American films ever made thanks to that opening sequence, and audiences responded at the time by making it a relative hit on a minuscule budget. The remake followed a similar path as The Fog<\/i> above, albeit in a more forgettable and less despicable fashion, as it went on to earn $67 million on a $22 million cost. [Winner]
\n<\/em><\/span>Ledger: +$400 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Premonition<\/em> (2007)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Perhaps bolstered by an increasingly positive track record, the studio stepped up with its next J-horror remake and added an A-list star into the mix with Sandra Bullock. It paid off, and while the film wasn\u2019t a huge hit, it did bring in $84 million, a profit of $54 million. As is the case with a lot of these, though, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find someone who remembers seeing it. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$454 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prom Night<\/em> (2008)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Like most remakes of minor horror hits from the \u201870s and \u201880s, the reboot of this beloved Canadian slasher was a minor hit all its own. It lacks the pull of a real star — sorry Brittany Snow, but you\u2019re no Jamie Lee Curtis — but it still nearly doubled its $30 million cost by bringing in $57 million at the box office. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$481 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Quarantine<\/em> (2008)<\/span><\/h3>\n

After three Japanese remakes, Sony finally decided to branch out to a different geographic location with this Americanized take on the fantastic Spanish found footage film [Rec]<\/i>. That 2007 chiller was an international hit that barely made a dent here in the U.S., and that made it ripe for an English-language remake. It\u2019s harmless and basically follows the original beat for beat, and audiences responded with a solid enough $41 million gross against an $18 million cost. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$504 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Stepfather<\/em> (2009)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Another entry in the category of remakes most people won\u2019t remember, this defanged reboot of Joseph Ruben\u2019s bloody and occasionally sleazy original pales in comparison to the personality and thrills that the 1987 film delivers. Quality has never been an issue for audiences, though, and this one scraped its way to break even at the box office with $31 million — a profit of $1 million. [Winner, technically]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$505 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Straw Dogs<\/em> (2011)<\/span><\/h3>\n

All good things must come to an end, and for Sony\u2019s string of financially successful horror remakes — it\u2019s a horrific enough thriller that I\u2019m considering it horror — that time came with their bland reboot of Sam Peckinpah\u2019s controversial classic from 1971. At an estimated cost of $37 million, the movie needed to bring in audiences, but it only managed $10 million worth of paying customers. [Loser]
\n<\/em><\/span>Ledger: +$478 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Carrie<\/em> (2013)<\/span><\/h3>\n

Brian De Palma\u2019s 1976 classic is considered among the best of all 60+ Stephen King feature adaptations, and no one really felt a remake was necessary. But money is a powerful motivator. Kimberly Peirce may not have the stylistic chops of De Palma, but she delivers a solid-enough coming-of-age revenge tale all the same. The original made 10 times its $3 million cost, and while the remake couldn\u2019t match that mathematically, it did nearly double its $45 million budget to gross $85 million. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Ledger: +$518 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Evil Dead<\/em> (2013)<\/span><\/h3>\n

While most of the films on this list made a profit and are therefore considered successes, none of the previous 12 actually exceeded the originals in terms of quality. Fede Alvarez\u2019s remake of Sam Raimi\u2019s wacky, gory 1981 classic is the exception. Yes, you read correctly. It lacks Raimi\u2019s slapstick shenanigans, but it adds visceral terror and nerve-shredding effects sequences to create one hell of a horror experience. Audiences embraced its brutally effective approach with a nearly $100 million haul against a cost of only $25 million. [Winner]<\/em>
\n<\/span>Sony\u2019s horror remake ledger: +$591 million<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Audiences are more often than not right to shrug their shoulders at the announcement of yet another horror remake, and regardless of the studio behind it, the odds are against it living up to the original. But that lack of quality is too often interpreted as an argument against their existence. Why does Hollywood keep churning out remakes when they all seem to suck? Well, as Sony\u2019s horror remake ledger of $500 million profit shows, they make them because you keep seeing them. Enjoy Flatliners<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Rob Hunter<\/a> lives in California, where he spends his days being wrong about <\/em>Evil Dead and\u00a0most other things.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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