Box Office Theory. That would be, by a wide margin, Blumhouse’s biggest opening of the year and the studio’s best debut since “Five Nights at Freddy’s” bowed to $80 million at the box office back in 2023. “Freddy’s” went on to become Blumhouse’s biggest movie ever with $297 million worldwide.
2022’s “The Black Phone,” based on the Joe Hill story of the same name, opened to $23.6 million en route to a substantial over-performance with $161.4 million worldwide, all against a very reasonable $18 million budget. $71.3 million of that money came from overseas. So, the sequel is in good shape, with those early estimates pointing to it becoming a similarly sizable hit. And while its budget has yet to be revealed, Blumhouse has never made a movie above the $30 million range, and it’s unlikely that streak is going to break here.
“Black Phone 2” once again centers on Finn (Mason Thames), now 17, who is struggling with life after being held captive by The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), meanwhile, begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone. Determined to solve the mystery linking her haunting visions to the real-life Alpine Lake winter camp, she and Finn decide to visit the latter during a bad storm. Unfortunately, it turns out The Grabber is waiting for them there from beyond the grave. Yes, the “Black Phone 2” trailers have made it clear: The Grabber is going full Freddy Krueger this time.
