Director Chris McKay’s previous theatrical release, the animated The LEGO Batman Movie, grossed $175.9M, an unreasonable benchmark for Renfield, his third feature. In terms of comps for Renfield, there aren’t too many classic-horror-literature-reimagined-as-comedies films to choose from. The franchise still has gas left in the tank for an overseas run, and international audiences should help determine the future of the franchise. The last entry in the franchise, F9: The Fast Saga, released in a pandemic-stricken market in April 2021, topped out at $173M domestically-the lowest tally since 2009’s Fast & Furious. It’s been diminishing returns for the Fast & Furious franchise at the domestic box office since 2015’s Furious 7 peaked with a $353M theatrical run. Aside from Minions: The Rise of Gru‘s $123.2M domestic haul and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish‘s $88.1M and counting (including grosses earned in 2023), comps include live action/animation hybrid video game adaptations Sonic the Hedgehog ($148.9M), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ($190.8M), and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu ($144.1M). Illumination gave Universal two successful family-friendly movies in 2022 (see Minions: The Rise of Gru and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, below), a year that for the most part saw family titles fail to meet box office expectations. Movie, hailing from Illumination Entertainment. One of the gaming world’s most recognizable characters has a strong shot at box office success with The Super Mario Bros.

Cinema universal