Horror films have seen a lot of success recently, from Scream V to M3GAN and Knock at the Cabin, among others.
Now, less than a week into its limited theatrical run in the United States, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has grossed $2.7 million against its $100,000 production budget.
While this is impressive, it is even more so given the fact that the movie has done so against widely negative reviews, like a measly 6% critics’ approval rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes.
Prior to its release, many speculated that Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey would bomb at the box office due to its twisted take on the popular children’s character created by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepards. However, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, the film’s director, writer, and producer, was convinced of its success and announced he had plans for a sequel even before the film’s debut. He revealed that the sequel will have a much bigger budget than the original title, with work slated to begin on the script soon after.
Even so, he didn't imagine that the film would enjoy this much success. During an interview with Variety, the producer has revealed that the film’s performance has exceeded his expectations. He further revealed that he had to plead with crew members to join the film as many people were unconvinced about the project. His co-producer, Scott Jeffrey, echoed this sentiment when he stated, "They [crew members] were worried about their careers. They don’t want to be in something that they just think off the bat sounds, you know, crap."
The film follows Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, and other anthropomorphic creatures, who become friends with a human named Christopher Robin. However, they become stranded when an older Robin leaves for college. Left to fend for themselves, the creatures revert to their basal instincts, thus becoming feral and bloodthirsty murderers with an intense disdain for humans. A few years after his departure, the group gets their revenge on Robin by killing his fiancée. In addition, the group gruesomely murders a group of friends who were vacationing in the area.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey stars Nikolai Leon, Craig David Dowsett, and Chris Cordell as Robin, Pooh, and Piglet respectively. The film also features Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, Amber Doig-Thorne, Danielle Ronald, Natasha Tosini, and Paula Coiz.
By the way, Frake-Waterfield and Jersey are not done retelling kid-favorite stories in a twisted and gory way. Up next, the duo will be retelling two classic children’s tales based on Bambi and Peter Pan. The projects are respectively titled Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan: Neverland Nightmare.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the British producer revealed he intends to create a shared universe for the former fan-favorite characters. He commented, "The idea is that we’re going to try and imagine they’re all in the same world, so we can have crossovers. People have been messaging saying they really want to see Bambi versus Pooh. There are many, many, many other ideas out there which aren’t tied to Disney, loads of old fairytales and urban legends, concepts that are synonymous with your childhood, and they’re the ones which I want to build up into a twisted alternative reality."
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is currently showing in theaters across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other territories. The film will premiere in the United Kingdom on March 10.
