海角大神

The horror movie 鈥淒on鈥檛 Breathe鈥� came in number one at the box office this past weekend, becoming the newest spooky film to perform better than industry watchers expected as the horror genre continues to succeed in an often-troubled summer.聽

鈥淏reathe,鈥� which stars Stephen Lang as a man who is blind and the target of attempted theft, grossed more than $26 million in its opening weekend. 鈥淪uicide Squad,鈥� the DC Comics film that had occupied the top spot over the past few weeks since opening in early August, came in second, taking in more than $12 million this weekend.聽

The animated movie 鈥淜ubo and the Two Strings,鈥� which opened on Aug. 19, came in third, grossing almost $8 million, while the animated comedy 鈥淪ausage Party,鈥� which originally opened on Aug. 12, placed fourth, taking in $7.7 million this past weekend.聽

The new action film 鈥淢echanic: Resurrection,鈥� which stars Jason Statham, opened in fifth place, grossing far less than 鈥淏reathe鈥� with its opening weekend gross of $7.5 million.聽

鈥淏reathe鈥� became the newest entry in the horror genre to do better than some industry watchers were expecting during a summer that, in general, has been a troubled one for Hollywood.聽

In July, the movie 鈥淟ights Out鈥� opened with more than $21 million, with calling the result 鈥渁 healthy return鈥� and noting that the horror movie 鈥淭he Conjuring 2,鈥� which like 鈥淟ights鈥� was released by New Line Cinema, had also done well.聽

This theme was echoed in June as well when the movie 鈥淭he Shallows,鈥� which stars Blake Lively as a woman threatened by a shark, opened with more than $16 million, a gross that wrote beat "industry expectations by about two-fold."

All these spooky films were success stories in a summer that has seen various blockbuster hopefuls underperform. What helped these movies succeed?聽

writes, "Horror is still untouchable," noting that it's easy for this summer's frightening films to become successes because their budgets were minor in comparison to some other movies. "The horror story ['Breathe'] joins other successful and scary summer movies, like 'The Conjuring 2,' 'Lights Out,' and 'The Purge: Election Year,' which were also made with relatively small budgets," Ms. Desta writes.聽

And points out that the horror genre is usually a reliable one for Hollywood. "The real winner this season is the horror genre," she writes of this summer. "It's long been a profitable gambit for Hollywood studios, and that trend doesn't show any signs of relenting."