Micro-Budget, Super-Buzzy Indie Horror Skinamarink Scores Nearly $1 Million In Its Opening Weekend
2022 showed us original horror movies are a very strong entity at the box office right now, with everything from "Smile" to "Terrifier 2" putting a great deal of meat in seats. So far, 2023 is also shaping up to be a big year for genre filmmaking in the early going, as "M3GAN" is going to cross the $100 million mark worldwide any time, likely birthing a new franchise for Blumhouse. But among the bigger, flashier titles in theaters this past weekend was the little horror flick that could in the form of "Skinamarink," the feature directorial debut from Kyle Edward Ball. It became something of a viral sensation online and, as it turns out, that online buzz led to real, honest-to-God ticket sales.
IFC Midnight and Shudder partnered for the release of the film, which cost just $15,000 to produce and was actually filmed in the house of Ball's parents. Given the buzz online, the film was given a wide release (for a movie of this size), debuting in 692 theaters over the MLK holiday weekend. Despite next to no marketing, save for a trailer and some digital ads, "Skinamarink" took in $815,000 over the weekend, and $890,000 when accounting for the Monday holiday, per Box Office Mojo.
It narrowly missed the top ten, coming in at number 11 for the weekend, which is damn good for a movie that cost right next to nothing to make and didn't have the weight of a big studio marketing campaign behind it. This was pure word-of-mouth. Even more surprising is the fact that it did such numbers despite the fact that pirated copies of the film were widely circulated online prior to the release. Ultimately, it didn't matter.
A remarkable success story
"Skinamarink" has been, admittedly, divisive. It currently holds a 75% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, to go with a 47% audience rating. It's very much a love/hate thing up to this point with viewers. The film centers on two children who wake up in the middle of the night to discover that their father is missing while all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. Strangeness ensues.
Another item of note when it comes to the movie's success is that many theaters only booked it on Friday and Saturday, and it was when they could fit it into their schedule around other big titles taking up screens, such as "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Plane," amongst others. Be that as it may, audience demand got more showings on the books. I can, anecdotally, tell you that just about every showing at the various Alamo Drafthouse locations in Austin, Texas were sold out throughout the entire weekend. In short, a certain section of horror fans really wanted to see this very scary movie.
The theatrical run was, undoubtedly, a success, and should bring in north of $1 million. That, in turn, will add buzz to the streaming premiere on Shudder later this year, where it figures to become an even bigger hit. One assumes Ball will be courted for bigger jobs as a result of this buzz, making this a pretty impressive success story – particularly for a movie that cost a mere $15,000.
"Skinamarink" is in theaters now and will stream on Shudder following its theatrical run.