THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 Was Murdered At The Box Office

After much waiting, director Renny Harlin’s The Strangers: Chapter 2 hit theaters over the weekend. This is part of Lionsgate’s ambitious plan to turn Bryan Bertino’s original home invasion classic into a full-on trilogy. Thus far, it’s been a bumpy ride, one that just got a little bumpier. Sad to say, Chapter 2 fell well short of already muted expectations, leaving the fate of the already-planned Chapter 3 on uncertain ground. 

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The Strangers: Chapter 2 opened to a very disappointing $5.9 million domestically on opening weekend, which was only good enough to land at number five on the charts. Overseas audiences, as of yet, haven’t been much help. It placed behind The Conjuring: Last Rites ($6.8 million), which is already on its fourth weekend. Meanwhile, director Paul Thomas Anderson’s buzzy, expensive One Battle After Another topped the charts with $22.4 million. That all left little room for these masked killers to make their mark. 

In Harlin’s sequel, the killers learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive. They then return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run, Maya must survive another horrific bout with The Strangers, who are driven by an unrelenting purpose to pursue her. 

The Strangers: Chapter 1 arrived in May of last year, arriving with not-so-great reviews, which didn’t help set things off on the right foot. It opened with $11.8 million, which was still not what Lionsgate had been hoping for but good enough. It finished its run with $48 million worldwide. The sequel will fall well short of that number. Reviews were once again very lousy