‘The Strangers – Chapter 1’ Domestic Box Office Scares Up a Modest Haul

Lionsgate’s first installment of The Strangers franchise reboot has raked in another $5.61 million at the domestic box office over the weekend from 2,856 theaters. The Strangers: Chapter 1 started its theatrical run on May 17, 2024, and since then, the film has grossed $22.73 million in North America. Before the weekend, the film’s total worldwide earnings closed in at $15 million. With the 4-day holiday period, the horror flick is expected to take in an estimated $7 million at the domestic box office with an additional increase in its worldwide collection. Thanks to these numbers, the film has already surpassed its reported budget of $8.5 million and marked a solid opening for the trilogy.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 stars Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale), Froy Guiterrez (Teen Wold), Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent), and Ema Horvath (The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power) in leading roles and has been directed by Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) who will also be helming the two upcoming sequels of the rebooted franchise. Similar to the original film The Strangers, which was released back in 2008 — the reboot follows a couple forced to stay at a remote AirBnB after their car breaks down. What ensues is the couple’s encounter with the three horrific antagonists of the film, Scarecrow, Dollface, and the Pin-up Girl.

The Production for ‘The Strangers: Chapters 2’ and ‘The Strangers: Chapter 3’ Began Simultaneously

In an interview with Bloody Disgusting back in 2022, producer Roy Lee announced that all three installments of the rebooted franchise would enter production simultaneously. At the time, Lee revealed that the idea was to produce all three films at the same time with a single filmmaker, similar to Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy which was released in 2021. The screenplay for The Strangers: Chapter 1 was written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland, from a story penned by Bryan Bertino, the mastermind behind the original The Strangers franchise himself.

Ahead of production, Harlin, whose worldwide lifetime box office haul as a director is over $1.2 billion revealed that he was excited to dive back into the world of horror. He went on to describe his experience in the following words:

“My breakthrough to Hollywood happened with the success of
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4
. It is only fitting that I get to return to my favorite genre with the incredibly well-written trilogy of
The Strangers
.”

The director also gave the fans a behind-the-scenes look at the franchise remake, adding, “The characters and the storyline are all grounded in reality and offer me an endless tapestry of haunting visuals in bringing these movies alive.” The shooting for all three films took place in Bratislava, Slovakia over a period of 52 days from September 2022 to November 2022. Now that the first film has hit the screens, The Strangers: Chapter 2 is slated to release in Fall 2024 and The Strangers: Chapter 3 is expected to come out in early 2025.

The Strangers: Chapter 1 is currently playing in theatres worldwide. The film will be available to rent on VOD platforms starting June 7, 2024. However, that might change if it continues to perform well in theaters.

The Strangers: Chapter 1

A young couple drive cross-country toward a new beginning; unfortunately they have no choice but to stop in a secluded Airbnb in Oregon–and endure a night of terror against three masked strangers.

Release Date

May 17, 2024

Director

Renny Harlin

Cast

Madelaine Petsch , Rachel Shenton , Gabriel Basso , Richard Brake , Ema Horvath

Writers

Alan R. Cohen , Alan Freedland

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