After originally being ordered by 20th Century Studios for Hulu, the adaptation of Stephen King’s short story The Boogeyman is now bound for theaters according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reception of test screenings of the film back in December was extremely positive, leading to a shift in strategy by executives to capitalize. The horror thriller will now enjoy a theatrical release on June 2.
Given the troubled production history of the adaptation, a theatrical release is a major win for all involved. Plans for a film take on The Boogeyman were in place as far back as 2018 with A Quiet Place co-writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods attached to pen the screenplay. The film was seemingly dead in the water after its cancelation in 2019 following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, but it was revived back in 2021. Perhaps the most impressive part of the shift is King's reaction to the film. The author is notorious for his disapproval of certain adaptations, even some of the better ones like Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. The Boogeyman, however, reportedly earned his approval upon watching the screening.
Directed by Rob Savage, The Boogeyman offers a spin on King's grim short story which centered on a father seeking help after he believes a malevolent entity murdered his children. The film will make major deviations from the original story, instead following a 16-year-old and her younger sister who are grieving the recent loss of their mother. They soon become targets of the Boogeyman following their psychologist father's encounter with a desperate patient in their house, and together they urge him to take action.
Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, and Madison Hu star in the adaptation. The production team features Stranger Things banner 21 Laps' Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen with Beck, Woods, and Emily Morris all executive producing.
The Boogeyman Is the Latest Film to Jump From Streaming to Theaters
If recent examples are anything to go off of, The Boogeyman’s jump from streaming to a theatrical release bodes well for its future. A few horror films originally bound for a streaming service completely changed their fortunes by swaying executives to take a chance on them. The biggest success in recent memory has to be Parker Finn’s Smile which defied its intended Paramount+ release, instead pulling in $216 million globally and being hailed as one of the best horror flicks of 2022. Although not released yet, Evil Dead: Rise also looks to be on a track to greater success since switching to theatrical, earning a world premiere at SXSW in March.
It's a good time in general to be a horror film at the box office too, a notion that also likely helped The Boogeyman make the jump. M3GAN kicked the year off in stellar fashion and is screaming toward the $100 million threshold at the box office. Even lower-budget horrors like the recently-released Skinamarink are making a killing relative to their budgets. This is also coming off a year of overperformances for Barbarian, Terrifier 2, Smile, and a number of other horrors.
The Boogeyman will now arrive in theaters on June 2. Check out an interview Collider previously conducted with Savage on his previous film Dashcam below.