Universal and Blumhouse seem to be running out of options as the most bankable genre in the theatrical marketplace lets them down once again. The studios have had a difficult time getting their horror properties to perform at the box office, at a time when audiences appear to be favoring more ambitious projects such as Weapons and Sinners. In the past 18 months, Universal and Blumhouse have delivered a string of box-office underperformers, barring the odd hit like Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. The disappointing streak began with Wolf Man, for which they hired director Leigh Whannell to recreate the success of The Invisible Man. But the movie tanked. The curse seems to be continuing, as this week’s new offering, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, is poised to deliver similarly disappointing results.
These movies were conceived after Universal’s $170 million tent-pole The Mummy, starring Tom Cruise, failed to launch an ambitious shared franchise modeled after the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was decided that, instead of producing interconnected movies featuring classic Universal Monsters, standalone features produced on smaller budgets ought to be made instead. And the pivot appeared to pay off, with Whannell’s The Invisible Man grossing more than $140 million worldwide against a reported budget of $7 million in 2020. But every subsequent project — Renfield, which made just $26 million worldwide against a $65 million budget; The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which grossed $21 million worldwide against a $45 million budget; and Wolf Man, which grossed $35 million worldwide against a $25 million budget — has underperformed.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Here’s How Much ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Is Eying this Weekend at the Box Office
Cronin’s The Mummy is expected to gross $13 million domestically in its first weekend, against a reported budget of $22 million. This is lower than any previous installment in the franchise, including Cruise’s box-office bomb, which opened with more than $30 million. All three films starring Brendan Fraser grossed at least thrice as much as Cronin’s movie in their respective opening weekends. Fraser and Rachel Weisz are returning for a new installment in that franchise, which seems to be a better bet for Universal. Cronin’s movie opened to mixed reviews and is currently sitting at a 45% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The aggregator website’s consensus reads, “Director Lee Cronin’s take on The Mummy injects some juicy gore and personal stakes into the classic horror setup, but the scares in this gross-out extravaganza get entombed by a padded running time.” Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
