THB #349: Renfield

There must have been something in the water at Universal last year or even a little before. So far in 2023, they have 4 of the Top 12 domestic grossers released this year. And they have done it with one “big” movie (The Super Mario Bros. Movie) and 3 “small” ones (M3GAN, Cocaine Bear, Knock on the Cabin). And now, they are about to add a 4th title to the winners list.

Renfield comes from the school of M3GAN and Cocaine Bear. What’s quite amazing is that all 3 teams on these thriller/horror/fun films are completely different: Blumhouse, Lord/Miller, and now, Robert Kirkman and David Alpert’s Skybound Entertainment. After this, they really don’t have another film in this category through the summer and once again go Blumhouse with a reboot of The Exorcist in October.

In any case, they have had a great first 4 months of the year, with seemingly endless marketing success and titles that audiences really want to see (whatever the critics think).

Renfield is, smartly, almost exactly what th…