Despite the fact that this kind of happened without anyone really noticing (or at least not making much note of it), this is not all that surprising. Not just because we’re dealing with a story by Stephen King, the guy who wrote “It” and, in turn, gave us the biggest Horror movie of all time. But because in the aftermath of 2020, horror has been the most consistently reliable genre out there. Sure, we’ve had the occasional misfire such as “Renfield” but, for the most part, horror has very much stayed winning.

The year’s first big hit was “M3GAN,” which made $180 million Worldwide against a mere $12 million budget. Then there’s “Scream VI,” which sits at $168 million globally and made even more than last year’s “Scream” ($138 million). We’ve also got “Evil Dead Rise” sitting pretty at $146 million – yet another movie that was originally supposed to go direct-to-streaming but instead turned into a theatrical hit. Add “Cocaine Bear” ($89 million worldwide) and “The Pope’s Exorcist” ($75 million worldwide) to the list as well. The genre’s not exactly bulletproof, but it’s the safest bet Hollywood has right now.

Looking at the bigger picture, it’s highly likely we’ll see fewer and fewer movies going directly to streaming, unless they’re made by Netflix. Disney, Warner Bros., and just about every other studio is seeing the continued value in theatrical releases despite streaming being touted just a couple of years ago as the unquestioned future. It turns out that having people pay to see your movie is a solid business strategy.