New Horror Movie Tarot Looks Like A Box Office Bomb – But It Could Be A Sneaky Hit
There has been much pessimism floating around regarding this past weekend's box office. I myself have tossed some of that pessimism into the void. Much of that has to do with the fact that the summer movie season kicked off with "The Fall Guy" opening to a wildly disappointing $28.5 million, marking the worst start to summer in more than 20 years. Far less ink has been spilled regarding Sony's new horror movie "Tarot," which also opened over the weekend and snuck into the top five on the domestic charts with a $6.5 million debut. At first glance, it's not a good look for a movie from a major studio opening on more than 3,100 screens across North America. However, this might actually end up being a sneaky little hit.
"Tarot" also pulled in $3.7 million internationally, giving it a $10.2 million global start. Again, that number isn't going to break any records. It's not even near the top of the list as far as domestic horror openings go in 2024, with Blumhouse's "Night Swim" ($11.8 million) still holding the top spot on that specific chart for the time being. It has, admittedly, not been a stellar year for theatrical horror thus far. We haven't had any breakouts like last year's "Talk to Me" or "Evil Dead Rise," for example. But Sony was surprisingly thrifty with this one, and that might be enough to make it a minor hit despite having the appearance of a bomb out of the gate.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Tarot" had an all-digital marketing campaign, with no TV spots or even billboards. It was marketed purely online, with the first trailer debuting in late January. This strategy undoubtedly saved the studio a lot of money. What's more, the movie was made for just $8 million before marketing. That amount could almost be chalked up to a rounding error on a typical blockbuster these days.
Sony spent wisely on Tarot
Taking that all into account, "Tarot" doesn't need to make all that much to break even. Even if it can get to $20 million worldwide, that's probably enough for VOD to get it into profits. Beyond that, Sony also has an output deal with Netflix that helps bring some revenue down the line for its theatrical releases. Couple that with (admittedly minimal) Blu-ray/DVD sales and cable rights, and this movie is going to make money. If it somehow sprouts legs and doesn't fall off a cliff in the coming weeks, it might even make a decent chunk of money. For what it's worth, we don't have another major studio horror movie until "The Strangers: Chapter 1" on May 17.
Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg's "Tarot" centers on a group of friends who recklessly violate the sacred rule of Tarot readings by using someone else's deck, which unwittingly unleashes an unspeakable evil trapped in the cursed cards. The cast includes Harriet Slater ("Pennyworth"), Adain Bradley ("Wrong Turn"), Avantika ("Mean Girls"), Wolfgang Novogratz ("The Half of It"), Humberly González ("Ginny & Georgia"), Larsen Thompson ("The Midnight Club"), and Jacob Batalon ("Spider-Man: No Way Home").
Is this movie going to make enough to help bail out the summer movie season? Absolutely not. Is it perhaps an example of how being thrifty can ensure a certain level of success? I would say so. It's not what I would call the model of success for the future, but it sure couldn't hurt for big studios to experiment a bit with minimal spending on certain films to protect themselves. If you don't spend a lot, you can't lose a lot. You might even still manage to make some money, even with middling results.
"Tarot" is in theaters now.