Universal’s action comedy Violent Night added $2.3 million from international territories this weekend for a running offshore total of $20 million. With around $5 million this weekend at the stateside box office, the film has made around $35 million domestically, for a global haul of $55 million. That’s a strong result for a film that cost a reported $20 million to produce, and was pointedly designed to offer counter-programming in between two massive tentpoles — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Starring David Harbour as a Viking-inspired Santa Claus, the film received a solid B+ CinemaScore from opening day crowds, which has certainly helped it perform at the box office for over two weeks now. The film has surpassed fellow Universal action-comedy Nobody in 46 markets, with Germany and France the latest to do so. Starring Bob Odenkirk, Nobody was modeled on the John Wick franchise, and concluded its global run with over $57 million against a reported budget of $16 million. It should be noted that the film was released at a more precarious time for theaters during the pandemic last year.
Violent Night will overtake Nobody’s global haul in a matter of days, and should end up making a nice little chunk of change for Universal. The studio made the wise decision to release the film in theaters, and will be looking forward to its digital debut — it has all the makings of a future cult classic. Praising the film’s darkly comedic tone, Collider’s Marco Vito Oddo wrote in his review, “Despite an uneven rhythm caused by its mix of ultraviolence and sentimental Christmas messages, Violent Night is still a solid holiday flick with the potential to spawn a new franchise."
Violent Night is directed by Tommy Wirkola, who is perhaps best known for his two Dead Snow films. He made his Hollywood debut with the poorly received but financially successful Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, starring Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner. All things considered, Violent Night could prove to be a neat post-Stranger Things insurance plan for Harbour, whose previous attempt at securing a franchise for himself failed with the Hellboy reboot.
The film also stars John Leguizamo (John Wick) as Scrooge, the leader of the mercenaries; Alex Hassell (Cowboy Bebop) as Jason Lightstone; Alexis Louder (The Tomorrow War) as Jason’s estranged wife, Linda, and Leah Brady (The Umbrella Academy) as their daughter, Trudy, who forms a heartfelt bond with Santa and provides him with vital assistance as he attempts to dispatch the intruders. Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones) plays Alva Lightstone; Cam Gigandet (Without Remorse) plays Morgan Lightstone and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise) stars as the imperious Lightstone matriarch, Gertrude.
You can watch our interview with Harbour here, and read the film’s official synopsis down below:
When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy Lightstone family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus (David Harbour, Black Widow, Stranger Things series) is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.