The on-screen ‘God of Mischief’, Tom Hiddleston, is set to work with the modern-day horror maestro, Mike Flanagan, in the feature adaptation of ‘The Life of Chuck’, a short story from Stephen King’s novella, ‘If It Bleeds’. Alongside Hiddleston, we will see talents like Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay, Karen Gillan, and Mark Hamill. Will the upcoming project from Flanagan outperform Doctor Sleep? Let’s find out!
Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep had high expectations from horror fans, particularly from the diehard ‘The Shining’ fanbase. Made on a serious budget of $45 million, the film managed to earn nearly $72 million, failing to turn into a financial profit. Many significant factors contributed towards the film’s disappointing box office run. First and foremost among them was its 1980 predecessor. Warner Bros tried leveraging the nostalgia attached to ‘The Shining’ to promote ‘Doctor Sleep’. And that nostalgia cultivated through online chatter or diehard fans of the horror genre. The studio failed to consider the opinions of the general audience. On top of that, they gave the film the ‘Rated-R’ treatment. When it comes to films like ‘The Shining’, these kinds of movies have highly dedicated fanbases, but the size of those fanbases usually turns out limited.
Another reason for Doctor Sleep’s poor box office performance is the leading man himself, Ewan McGregor. He is an amazing actor. But he simply does not have the power to lure a large number of audiences into theatres on his own.
But Mike Flanagan’s upcoming horror flick, The Life of Chuck, may emerge as a box office success. Here’s how. ‘The Life of Chuck’ is not a highly anticipated sequel to an acclaimed film that came out in the 80s. Instead, it will be based on a short story which is not very prominent among horror fans, and that short story is considered one of the author’s most experimental works. This scenario certainly decreases the expectations associated with the film.
Another thing that can make ‘The Life of Chuck’ a success is its story. King told the short story in a reverse chronological manner, taking the readers back to Chuck’s childhood in a haunted house in the end. Flanagan can seamlessly pull off this scenario. In addition, the film will be an indie project. It means it will not have a budget as big as Doctor Sleep’s.
Furthermore, we have Tom Hiddleston as the protagonist. The English actor is globally prominent for his work in the MCU as Loki. His popularity may aid ‘The Life of Chuck’ in performing well at the box office. Plus, the popularity associated with Mike Flanagan’s latest Netflix masterpiece, The Fall of the House of Usher, will surely help the director’s next feature directional project. The series was viewed nearly 6 million times in its first week. Stay tuned for more updates.