An Acclaimed Remake Of An '80s Cult Classic Sadly Flopped At The Box Office

Critical acclaim and name recognition only gets you so far. That's what Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting had to come to terms with over the weekend as their new remake of the '80s cult horror classic, "Silent Night, Deadly Night," flopped at the box office in its debut. Most unfortunate of all, director Mike P. Nelson's take on the franchise was met with a great deal of acclaim, but it still couldn't cut through the noise.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" opened to just $1.1 million on over 1,600 screens, making for an unfortunately lousy $682 per-screen average. It actually did worse than Disney's newcomer "Ella McCay," which opened to just $2.1 million, itself one of the worst debuts in the studio's history. Granted, this Christmastime slasher was always going to be more niche, but for further context, the IMAX re-release of "The Shining" made $1.5 million on just 400 screens over the weekend.

What's perhaps most surprising is that it wasn't even a crowded frame. Disney's "Zootopia 2" returned to the top of the charts with $26.3 million, passing the $1.1 billion mark globally to become Hollywood's biggest movie of 2025. Meanwhile, last weekend's champion, "Five Nights at Freddy's 2," fell hard with a 70% drop for a $19.5 million second weekend haul. All the same, that's where the majority of horror fans flocked this weekend, leaving Nelson's latest out of the top 10 entirely.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" is, of course, a remake of the controversial '80s Christmas slasher of the same name. It centers on Billy (Rohan Campbell), a man who witnessed his parents' gruesome murder on Christmas Eve at the hands of an individual dressed as Santa Claus. Now, every Christmas, he dresses up as Saint Nick and sheds blood on his own terms.

Nelson, who previously directed 2021's "Wrong Turn," did his job. "Silent Night, Deadly Night" boasts an 81% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes to go with a 75% audience rating. Those are relatively high marks for a slasher movie, and I personally commended "Silent Night, Deadly Night" for doing something new when I reviewed it out of Fantastic Fest earlier this year. It was a big, interesting swing, but one that couldn't manage to break out in the way its producers had hoped.

Cineverse made a name for itself in 2022 when the low-budget sequel "Terrifier 2" became an unexpected hit, pulling in more than $15 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $250,000. That, in turn, paved the way for 2024's Christmas-set "Terrifier 3," which made an absolutely shocking $90 million worldwide. The company has since been trying to emulate that performance, with little success.

The studio also released the long-awaited "The Toxic Avenger" remake earlier this year. It opened to just $1.7 million and topped out at $3.4 million worldwide, putting a button on what was a not-so-great summer season at the box office. Converse also has "Return to Silent Hill" due out in late January, which may fare better given the name recognition that comes with it.

The good news is that Cineverse doesn't spend a lot on these movies. This one can still do business on VOD and streaming. If it can become an annual tradition as many Christmas movies do, it could also make money for years to come. Nelson has even pitched a sequel, so who knows? That might not be dead yet. It's just a shame this one couldn't find more love in theaters.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" is in theaters now.