An A24 horror movie from Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou has done well enough at the box office – with $26 million and counting – for a sequel to be confirmed, just over a week since release. Talk to Me had a budget of less than $5 million and has no recognizable stars in the cast. It was a sleeper hit on the festival circuit, generating positive word-of-mouth before release.
Talk to Me has made the same amount of money (in just a week) as vampire movie Renfield – which starred Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult – did during its entire release. Horror movies have generally been a success story at the box office in 2023 so far, and we’re still months away from October’s spooky season. Knock at the Cabin made $54 million, The Boogeyman made $67 million and The Pope’s Exorcist made $76 million.
Four horror movies have crossed $140 million each – Evil Dead Rise, Scream VI, M3gan, and Insidious 5. These four movies had a combined budget of $70 million and have made nearly $700 million, showing how profitable horror can be as a genre.
It’s interesting to compare the success of 2023’s smaller budget horror movies to the bloated budgets of some ‘blockbusters’ including Disney’s Haunted Mansion ($150 million budget, has made $60 million so far), as well as The Flash and Indiana Jones 5 – which have barely made their production budgets back, not counting the enormous marketing and distribution costs.
A24 confirmed the sequel in a disturbing tweet which has the evil hand from the movie contort itself into the number two. Our four-star Talk to Me review describes it as; “slick, scary, and wildly entertaining. Talk to Me is one of the most original and memorable horror movies of 2023 that holds you in its grip and refuses to let go.”
Check out our guide to the best slasher movies and the best ghost movies. Also find out what are the other best A24 movies.