Kathryn Newton’s Next Horror Movie Can Quickly Redeem Her $9.9 Million Bomb (& Rescue A 5-Year Box Office Streak)

Summary Despite colorful marketing and well-known stars, Lisa Frankenstein flopped at the worldwide box office.

Kathryn Newton's upcoming horror film, Abigail, has high expectations due to its star-studded cast and unique storyline.

After a five-year streak of box office disappointments, Abigail offers Newton a chance at redemption.

Kathryn Newton's Lisa Frankenstein may have bombed at the box office, but her next horror movie can redeem the $9.9 million failure and save the actor from a negative five-year streak. Lisa Frankenstein hit theaters in February 2024, and despite a colorful marketing approach and two well-known leads, its opening weekend proved disappointing — and it continued to fall short of expectations from there. Per Variety, Lisa Frankenstein grossed $3.8 million during its first three days in theaters, which was just short of its $4 million projection. As of this writing, its earnings total $9.9 million, and that's on a $13 million budget.

Newton's horror flop is disappointing, as Lisa Frankenstein appeared to be a fun and humorous romp. And the film's disappointing run comes on the heels of a five-year drought for the actor. Fortunately, Newton's next horror movie seems a lot more likely to redeem the Lisa Frankenstein star. After five years without a box office hit, it's a long overdue and welcome development.

April 2024's Abigail Is Likely To Be A Box Office Hit After Lisa Frankenstein's Horror Flop

The Horror Movie's Cast & Crew Will Undoubtedly Draw Viewers

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Abigail Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available Abigail is a 2024 horror thriller directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The plot follows a group of people who kidnap the daughter of a dangerous crime lord only to discover that the little girl is actually a vicious vampire out for blood. Alisha Weir stars as the titular character alongside Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, and Dan Stevens. Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin , Tyler Gillett Release Date April 19, 2024 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Writers Guy Busick , Stephen Shields Cast Kathryn Newton , Dan Stevens , Giancarlo Esposito , Kevin Durand , Melissa Barrera , Alisha Weir , Angus Cloud , William Catlett Main Genre Horror

Although Lisa Frankenstein proved a box office flop, Newton has a chance to redeem herself with her upcoming horror film, Abigail. Abigail hits theaters in April 2024, and it's been getting a lot of attention in the lead-up to its release. There's a good reason for that. In addition to Newton, Abigail features an all-star cast that includes Giancarlo Esposito, former Scream star Melissa Barrera, and the late Angus Cloud. The film also boasts a premise that's even more entertaining than Lisa Frankenstein's, as it sees a group of criminals getting in over their heads after kidnapping and attempting to ransom a young vampire.

Former Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are also helming the project, so there's little doubt that Abigail is going to be a smash hit. Between its cast and crew, pre-release hype, and unique story, Abigail is likely to draw moviegoers to theaters and do numbers at the box office. It also promises to help Newton recover from a five-year streak. The actor hasn't had a box office hit in a few years, and it's about time she bounced back from that trend.

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Kathryn Newton Hasn't Had A Box Office Smash Since Detective Pikachu

Freaky, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, & Lisa Frankenstein Were Underwhelming

Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton in Pokémon Detective Pikachu

Abigail's likely success is great news for Newton, as the Lisa Frankenstein star hasn't had a box office smash since Detective Pikachu in 2019. Newton played Lucy Stevens in the video game adaptation, bringing the junior reporter to life with undeniable charm. And Detective Pikachu exceeded expectations with its box office, becoming one of the biggest video game movies at the time with its $430 million earnings (via Box Office Mojo). Sadly, Newton's more recent movies haven't continued this positive trend. Freaky, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Lisa Frankenstein all had disappointing runs.

Of course, that means different things for different movies. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's $476 million performance looks great compared to Newton's horror offerings. However, it was underwhelming for a Marvel movie, especially one with a $200 million production budget. Freaky and Lisa Frankenstein were unlikely to reach those heights, but the two horror films only making about $9 million apiece was a disappointing surprise. Hopefully, Abigail will redeem them both and land Newton more horror roles in the future.

Abigail Replaces The Scream 7 Horror Movie Casting Wishes That Can't Happen Now

Kathryn Newton & Melissa Barrera Still Get A Chance To Work Together

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Newton's role in Abigail can help fix her negative box office trend, and it can also make up for Scream 7 casting wishes that went unfulfilled. With Newton working with Barerra on Abigail — and having connections to original Scream 7 director Chris Landon through Freaky — there were hopes the actor could appear in the upcoming sequel. Unfortunately, Barrera's controversial Scream 7 firing and Landon leaving the project make that far less likely. It also makes the prospect less exciting. Fortunately, fans of Newton will get to see her work with former Scream stars and directors in Abigail, even if she's not facing off against Ghostface.

Between Newton's box office woes and her unfulfilled Scream dream-casting, Abigail is making up for a lot of disappointments. With its release date being so close to Newton's horror-comedy, it also ensures she can come back from Lisa Frankenstein's box office bomb quickly. Only time will tell if she secures a much-needed box office win through Abigail. With so much working in the horror movie's favor, the odds are promising.

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