After it failed to garner any traction at the box office, a 2024Blumhousemovie is finding renewed success on Netflix. The indie studio best known for their horror output has enjoyed something of a mixed bag in the past couple of years when it’s come to both the critical and commercial reception to their movies. For everyrecord-breakingM3GANandFive Nights at Freddy’s, there’s also been a near-franchise-destroyingThe Exorcist: Believerand lacklusterHalloween Ends.
2024, in particular, has been something of a rockier year for Blumhouse. Having hoped to recapture the January release success ofM3GAN, the horror short adaptation ofNight Swimproved to be a critical misfire, albeit a modest box office success. The studio followed it up with four other releases, including the similarly pannedImaginaryandtheJames McAvoy-starring English-language remake ofSpeak No Evil, which was a critical and commercial hit. There was one release among the studio’s 2024 schedule, though, that nearly marked a new low for Blumhouse, but is finding a new kind of success.
AfrAId Is Starting Off High On Netflix’s Charts
The Movie Hit A Box Office Low For Blumhouse
Written and directed by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz,AfrAIdcenters on a family who are invited to participate in a trial run for a new smart home artificial intelligence program named AIA, only for it to start spiraling out of control and taking over their lives. Led by John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu and Keith Carradine, the movie garnered largely negative reviews from critics.AfrAIdwas also a box office disappointment, marking Blumhouse’s lowest opening weekend at the box office and only grossing $12.9 million against its $12 million production budget.
Now, upon making its streaming debut,AfrAIdis finding success onNetflix. The2024 Blumhouse movie currently sits at No. 9 on the platform, being situated just ahead of 2015’sMinions. In addition to landing on Netflix’s Top 10, the movie is also the only horror title ranking so high at the time of writing, with the rest of the chart including Lindsay Lohan’sOur Little Secret, Skydance’sSpellbound, Chad Michael Murray’sThe Merry Gentlemen, Kurt Russell’sThe Christmas Chronicles, Illumination’sThe Secret Life of Pets, Lacey Chabert’sHot Frosty, Owen Wilson’sFather Figuresand Illumination’sSing.
Could An AfrAId Sequel Be On The Horizon?
The Movie Certainly Left The Door Open For More
With this renewed success, some may begin to wonder whether anAfrAIdsequel could be on the horizon. Unlike many other Blumhouse movies, in the lead up to the 2024 title’s release,Weitz didn’t offer any indication as to whether he was considering a follow-up to the tech horror-thriller. Moreover, the movie’s lackluster box office didn’t really inspire these discussions among viewers, which wasn’t helped byAfrAId’s surprisingly minimal marketing compared to other Blumhouse releases, and failing to overcome Dennis Quaid’sReaganin their shared release weekend, or dethronethe continued success ofDeadpool & Wolverine.
AfrAIdhas since climbed further on Netflix’s Top 10 since the article’s original publishing, now sitting in the No. 5 spot behindOur Little Secret,Spellbound,The Merry Gentlemenand fellow new debutThe Snow Sister.
Even still, should the movie continue to climb Netflix’s charts,it seems hard to believe Blumhouse wouldn’t consider anAfrAIdsequel. The first movie’s ending left the door wide open for a whole world of follow-ups as AIA has been released to the public, but still manipulating a wide range of people’s lives, setting up a variety of potential spinoffs in the same vein asSmile 2’s ending. That said, there’s still a very long road ahead before Blumhouse will eye anAfrAIdsequel, particularly when factoring in its lackluster box office.
Our Take On AfrAId’s Streaming Success
It May Not Last Much Longer
AfrAId’s success on streaming certainly doesn’t come as much of a surprise. The movie’s fresh debut on Netflix clearly helped put new eyes on it, though Blumhouse is renowned for having a variety of movies find success on streaming, regardless of how they did in theaters.Night Swimis one such examplefrom Blumhouse’s 2024 slate, and was helped in part by Stephen King’s defense of the movie.
All 12 Upcoming Blumhouse Horror Movies Explained
Blumhouse is a leader in the horror genre, so it is particularly exciting that the production company has 12 new movies premiering in the near future.
That being said,AfrAId’s longevity on streaming may not be as strong as its debut outing indicates. The arrival of the Christmas season is already evident by half of Netflix’s other titles on the top chart, and unless audiences start spreading positive things about the Blumhouse horror movie, it seems unlikely that it will stay in the Top 10 much longer. ConsideringAfrAId’s audience score is 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for it to get some defenders, but I don’t see it happening.
AfrAId
Cast
AfrAId is a psychological thriller series set in a secluded small town. Following the mysterious disappearance of a local teenager, Sheriff Gregson, played by Eric Dane, struggles to uncover the dark secrets lurking within his community. As fear and suspicion grow, the townspeople wrestle with their own hidden pasts, creating an atmosphere of pervasive dread. Co-starring Jennifer Carpenter and Ethan Embry, the series delves into the chilling consequences of buried truths.
