Posted on 11/11/2019 11:06:24 AM PST by EdnaMode
One week after “Motherless Brooklyn” disappointed the box office, Warner Bros. has yet another flop in the form of “Doctor Sleep.” The Mike Flanagan-directed horror film based on Stephen King’s “The Shining” sequel was tracking for a debut in the $25 million range, but its opening weekend came in well below that mark with a dismal $14 million total. While “Doctor Sleep’s” $50 million production is a saving grace, Deadline reports the film is expected to lose between $20 million and $30 million for Warner Bros.
“Doctor Sleep” now joins “The Goldfinch,” “Gemini Man,” and “Terminator: Dark Fate” as one of the fall’s big studio tentpole flops, but that’s not how King wants it to be remembered.
Amidst headlines over the weekend bringing attention to “Doctor Sleep” bombing at the box office, King took to social media to share a defense of the film. Author Matt Serafini encouraged “Doctor Sleep” admirers to share positive thoughts online to drown out the negativity of the movie’s box office.
“If you liked ‘Doctor Sleep don’t spend the weekend moping over box office,” Serafini wrote. “Talk about the film, what you dug, and inspire others to check it out. Let your championship be meaningful that way. Don’t let everyone’s hard work be immediately reduced to and defined by numbers.” King shared Serafini’s opinion with his own 5.5 million followers, adding, “Agree. It’s a terrific movie. Take a friend and dig the vibe.”
King was originally hesitant to allow Flanagan to direct “Doctor Sleep.” The filmmaker’s pitch was to adapt King’s novel while including some of the iconography made famous in Stanley’s Kubrick’s “The Shining” film adaptation. King has never supported Kubrick’s film, so he was understandably cagey about letting Flanagan recreate Kubrick’s version of settings like the Overlook Hotel. Not only did the two find common ground for the film to move forward, but King has since become a champion of “Doctor Sleep.”
King continued to champion “Doctor Sleep” in the wake of the box office numbers by tweeting, “I mostly write books and hope for the best. Box office numbers aside, Mike Flanagan’s film is excellent. If people choose not to go, that is their choice, but when something is good, I cheer for it.”
“Doctor Sleep” is the year’s third high profile Stephen King film following “Pet Sematary” and “It Chapter Two.” The film is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Maybe he needs to get out and bash Trump some more.
Didn’t Carrie and Cujo do reasonably well?
I read his first book, all of the ones to follow used same outline - boring.
Yeah they did. His recent ones have flopped.
Saw it last night and it was better than I thought it would be. Nice plot, good acting, and they aggressively pursue the bad guys. Well worth a couple hours of popcorn and diet Pepsi.
Another victim of self-inflicted get-woke/go-broke syndrome.
King is a Trump hater. Therefore I do not watch his movies nor do I purchase his books.
I liked “The Shining” - both the novel and the movie, though they are very different. I didn’t like the “Doctor Sleep” novel sequel, but the reviews I’ve read say the movie is quite decent. I’ll probably try to see it while it’s still in theaters.
I saw The Shining. Why pay money to watch a remake when the previews don’t look as good as the original?
For someone who wrote “The Stand”, he sure has difficulty with the Good vs Evil story in real life.
BLM and SJW are the ones who look, act and talk like those in Las Vegas.
I’ve read a lot of King. The Outsider is a fast read and very intriguing, unlike most of his paid-by-the-word works. I learned about Doctor Sleep from a movie poster in the theater where I was seeing The Lighthouse.
not a remake of the shining, a follow-on story about the little boy, all grown up.
Too bad, so sad A-HOLE.
I stopped reading King after I finished the game unabridged version of The Stand. Only one worth reading. Any movie he’s associated with stinks. Shawshank Redemption was fantastic, but he wasn’t involved in filming.
I loved the horror genre when I was a teenager. Not so much anymore.
They seem to be popular, though.
Stephen King on the dismal opening.
“Trumps fault”:
Sorry to hear the movie isn't good.
His politics are irrelevant to me. People who are in the arts or literature usually have no sense when it comes to good sense and good judgment.
Never met one of those types who could cut it running a business or even had any idea what a business was all about (and a country is all about business in one way or another).
Nothing like the two of them toot their own horns. It gives me so much pleasure to see the Left stumbling so badly this year. It’s the Trump zeitgeist.
With that said, I think the majority of his stories made into films are not that good. He seems to just sell the rights and be damned if the director sticks to the story. The worst of his stories made into a film was The Lawn Mower Man.
I read Doctor Sleep and actually liked it. However, when I saw trailers for the film, it seemed they changed the female character with the shine from white to black. Why do that? Will probably see it on Amazon Prime or Netflix.
He is not only a never Trumper but a leftist and anti-Christian bigot. He also got caught echoing John Kerry's remarks concerning those going into the military - if you can't get into college, you go into the military. Basically saying those going into the military are too stupid to do anything else.
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