Movies
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Leaves Rapture, No Longer Directing ‘Bioshock’
For my money, “Bioshock” is the best that the modern gaming era has to offer. Even though its sequel was incredibly disappointing, I can’t wait for “Bioshock Infinite”, primarily because it marks the return of Ken Levine to the franchise. One thing we may never be getting is the Bioshock movie. And to be honest, I’m increasingly fine with that. The first game is so perfect that I’m beginning to believe that a film depiction of that world could only disappoint.
When the initial incarnation of the Bioshock film was announced at Universal with Gore Verbinski at the helm, I was incredibly excited. Verbinski is nothing if not an incredibly talented visual stylist. But the Hard-R rating it would require combined with the fact that it would cost hundreds of millions to produce wound up stalling the project for so long that Verbinski stepped aside as a director (though he remains a producer) and they hired Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. The aim at the time was also very much on a more cost-friendly adaptation of the game. But that incarnation seems to have bitten the dust as well.
Fresnadillo told The Playlist, “To be honest, by now, I’m completely out of that, and developing other stuff. Right now it’s on hold. The studio and the videogame company, they have to reach some kind of agreement about the budget and the rating.”
Per the usual, Ken Levine isn’t in any hurry either. Last year he stated, “We got very close to having it get made – we had a deal in place and a director. But for us there’s no burning [desire] to have a movie made just to get it made,” Levine stressed. “For us and for Take-Two, it’s really got to be something that will a) give the fans something that they want, and b) for those who don’t know ‘Bioshock,’ really introduce them to something that is consistent with the game, and is it going to be a good representation of the game.”
What do you think? Do you want the “Bioshock” movie to happen or are you content with the games?
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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