Guillermo del Toro’s latest film alley of nightmares will receive a second theatrical release, this time in black and white. After a lackluster performance at the box office in its Dec. 17 opening weekend — grossing just $2.8 million from 2,145 theaters — del Toro is determined to give alley of nightmares another blow.
The 1940s noir thriller faced several box office challenges, the biggest being the omicron push of Covid-19 across the country. If people were hesitant to go to the cinema before, the rapidly rising infection rate certainly didn’t help. Another contributing factor was that alley of nightmaresthe holiday outing of the opposite Spider-Man: No Coming Home. The latter went on to gross $1.69 billion worldwide, proving there were plenty of moviegoers willing to risk potential exposure for a superhero blockbuster – but not for a niche film.
“The biggest curve was omicron, and there was no way to fight that. The audience was scared,” del Toro said. The Hollywood Reporter. The film’s dismal turnout inspired del Toro to bring the new black-and-white version to cinemas, which resulted in sold-out screenings with frequent appearances by del Toro and cast members, including Bradley Cooper. “This second version grew organically from the interaction with the audience. It was very encouraging,” del Toro said. “It will allow the film to grow beyond the peak weeks of omicron.”
Based on the 1947 film noir classic from 20th Century Fox, alley of nightmares stars Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Willem Dafoe. The film earned just over $14.5 million worldwide, against a budget of $60 million.
Gallery – Great movies that bombed at the box office: