The acclaimed film competed against a horde of fellow horror releases during its theatrical run.
The Big Picture
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Late Night with the Devil
defies horror competition, emerging as an unexpected box office hit, grossing $10.1 million globally. - Starring David Dastmalchian, the film holds a remarkable 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, reviving interest in demonic possession horror.
- The movie showcases fresh spin on found footage genre tropes, with Collider praising Dastmalchian’s performance as a talk show host.
Despite facing stiff competition from a handful of horror releases during the course of its theatrical run, IFC’s Late Night with the Devil has emerged as an unlikely box office hit. This weekend — its fourth at the domestic box office — the horror movie grossed $440,000 from around 600 domestic theaters, pushing its global box office haul past the $10 million mark. Directed by Colin Cairnes and Cameron Cairnes, the film opened to terrific reviews, and will debut on the Shudder streaming service in a matter of days.
Late Night with the Devil has generated $9.3 million domestically, and another $860,000 from overseas markets, for a combined global haul of $10.1 million. The movie delivered the best-ever domestic box office debut for an IFC title, when it generated $2.8 million from just over 1,000 theaters in its first weekend. Late Night with the Devil grossed $2.1 million in its second weekend, expanding its theatrical footprint to over 1,400 locations, and followed it up with around $1 million in its third weekend. It is currently the 27th highest-grossing IFC movie at the worldwide box office, behind Frances Ha and Looking for Eric.
Starring the underrated David Dastmalchian as a late night talk show host who invites a seemingly possessed girl to boost ratings, the movie was met with positive critical reception after its debut at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March. It holds a spectacular 97% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, which is practically unheard of for a modern horror picture. It was equally beloved by fans; the film’s audience score on RT stands at 82%. In his review, Collider’s Chase Hutchinson described it as a “frequently sinister if occasionally slight genre flick,” and praised Dastmalchian’s central performance as the ambitious talk show host.
‘Late Night with the Devil’ Puts a Fresh Spin on Found Footage Films
During the course of its theatrical run, Late Night with the Devil competed for attention against a host of fellow horror titles such as Blumhouse’s Imaginary, the nunsploitation film Immaculate, and most recently, the legacy prequel The First Omen. It remains the lowest-grossing but highest-rated film of the bunch. The movie has also been praised for re-igniting interest in the demonic possession sub-genre of horror, and for putting a fresh spin on dormant found-footage tropes. Also starring Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, and Fayssal Bazzi, Late Night with the Devilwill debut on Shudder on April 19. You can watch the film in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Late Night With the Devil
A live television broadcast in 1977 goes horribly wrong, unleashing evil into the nation’s living rooms.
- Release Date
- March 22, 2024
- Director
- Cameron Cairnes , Colin Cairnes
- Cast
- David Dastmalchian , Laura Gordon , Ian Bliss , Fayssal Bazzi , Ingrid Torelli , Rhys Auteri , Josh Quong Tart , Georgina Haig
This article was originally published on collider.com