The Last Voyage Of The Demeter Sinks At The Box Office During Opening Weekend

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" is floundering at the box office. 

The summer box office has been relatively healthy for a diverse array of films. Superhero spectacles "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" have managed to claim top spots at the box office alongside unlikely favorites like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." Even horror films such as "Insidious: The Red Door" and "Talk To Me" have managed to soar during the crowded months. One summer hopeful was "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," a throwback horror flick based on an early chapter from Bram Stroker's "Dracula." 

Early reactions to the film's first teaser were positive, with horror fans speculating that "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" could be a prestige vampire classic. Despite an impressive cast, which includes Corey Hawkins and David Dastmalchian, the Dracula flick failed to make much of an impression with critics. /Film writer Chris Evangelista was mixed on the film, praising it for its performances and creature design, but critical of its narrative woes and lack of thrills. "I don't know if I'd call this a memorable take on Dracula, but as a simple little monster movie with plenty of atmosphere, it does the trick," Evangelista wrote, awarding the film a 6/10. Audiences were mostly unreceptive as well, giving the Universal Pictures horror flick a B- CinemaScore. 

Mixed reviews and poor word of mouth have forced "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" to sink at the box office, with its opening weekend haul estimated to be $6.5 million, per The Hollywood Reporter. While numbers can shift as the weekend progresses, it's expected that "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" will debut at the number five spot at the box office, making this Dracula outing dead on arrival. 

Besides "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," there were no major English-language theatrical releases at the box office. Unfortunately, "The Last Voyage of the Demteter's" box office dreams were crushed thanks to on-going competition from reigning box office champions "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." The Greta Gerwig-directed doll flick, which recently crossed the $500 million mark stateside, is estimated to rake in $31 million this weekend. The Warner Bros. project will come in at number one, continuing its dominance at the box office in its fourth weekend. 

Second place goes to "Barbie" twin flame "Oppenheimer." Directed by Christopher Nolan, the R-rated, three-hour long adult drama is continuing to make an impression with audiences, who are eager to see the British auteur's nuanced take on the father of the atomic bomb. It's estimated to bring in $17 million this weekend — a significant hold from its third weekend cume of $30 million. Nolan's latest is set to gross over $600 million worldwide and, if all goes, well, the biopic could end its worldwide run at $700 million if audience momentum continues in the coming weeks. 

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" will boast a sophomore weekend total just shy of $15 million, while "The Meg 2" is estimated to flounder with a haul of $12.3 million. While there are a number of films vying for the attention of audiences, it's pretty clear that "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" was an afterthought for most, especially when guranteed crowdpleasers like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are still occupying precious real estate at multiplexes. With a budget of $45 million, "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" debut is not inspiring confidence, especially for Universal Pictures, who seem eager to dive deeper into their roster of classic monsters. 

The less-than-stellar opening weekend haul of "The Last Voyage of the Demeter" must sting for Universal Pictures. While they certainly have IP in "Fast and the Furious" and "Mario" thanks to their relationship with Nintendo, the studio has been struggling to monetize its catalogue of classic horror characters. After the failure of the Dark Universe thanks to Tom Cruise's "The Mummy" reboot, Universal Pictures decided to opt for a more director-focused, narrative-first approach. This paid off immensely with 2020's Leigh Whannell-directed "The Invisible Man," which modernized the H. G. Wells-created character, resulting in a $139 million run that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, Universal Pictures' recent Dracula-focused efforts have been duds. Earlier this year, they debuted "Renfield," a comedy-action flick based on Dracula's assistant. The Nicholas Cage-starring film had no bite at the box office, bombing with a $26 million gross against a $65 million budget. "The Last Voyage of the Demeter," which also features Dracula, is on track to be another bomb for Universal Pictures. With two misfires in a row, is it time for the studio to give up on their monster aspirations? 

Seeing as Universal's very own "M3GAN" and this summer's "Insidious: The Red Door" have done over $80 million worth of business stateside, it might be time for the studio to pause their monster efforts. Or, at least, give their monster-focused films smaller budgets, lessening the chances of them being failures. Universal Pictures'  "M3GAN," and "The Black Phone" all boasted budgets of less than $20 million and managed to rake in over $90 million domestically, proving that the studio doesn't need to shell out big bucks to make horror favorites at the box office.