10 Awesome 2021 Films That Didn't Deserve To Flop
5. The Night House
Horror has been one of the most reliably performing genres at the box office throughout the pandemic, in large part due to their generally smaller budgets and tendency to skew towards younger audiences.
David Bruckner's new psychological horror The Night House was an infuriating exception, then, as despite a set of compelling trailers and a wide U.S. release in 2,240 cinemas, it grossed just $15.2 million worldwide.
The primary culprit was surely its grim "C-" CinemaScore, reflecting the fact that the film was really more of a character-driven drama with horror undertones than the more formulaic spook-fest the trailers characterised it as.
Even so, between its strong technical craft, engrossing story, and Rebecca Hall's fantastic performance, this was absolutely a film that deserved to be a success on the level of A24's biggest horror hits, such as Hereditary and Midsommar.
Instead, it came and went without general audiences giving it a second glance.