‘Companion’ Defies Horror Movie Norms with Brilliant CinemaScore Find help us

Horror audiences can be notoriously demanding. Scary movies tend to receive low CinemaScores, and are usually front-loaded at the box office. But this week’s new release, Companion, seems to be bucking the trends. The movie is eyeing a second-place finish at the domestic box office, on the back of excellent reviews and an encouraging response from opening day crowds. Companion has earned a strong B+ CinemaScore, which is highly unusual for a horror film. This bodes well for its commercial prospects, at a time when the genre has been struggling to strike a chord with mainstream crowds, barring the occasional hit.

Companion stars two young actors who made a name for themselves with hit television shows. Sophie Thatcher delivered a stand-out performance in Yellowjackets, while Jack Quaid benefited heavily through his association with The Boys. In Companion, they play a couple whose weekend getaway descends into chaos. The movie is directed by Drew Hancock and produced by Zach Cregger, who rose to fame after directing the sensational horror hit Barbarian. Released in 2022, Barbarian earned positive reviews, and emerged as a word-of-mouth hit, grossing around $45 million worldwide.

It earned a C+ CinemaScore, which is more in line with the horror genre. For instance, Thatcher’s last theatrical release, Heretic, also earned a C+. The movie eventually made around $60 million globally. More recently, M. Night Shyamalan‘s Trap earned a C+ grade as well, before grossing over $80 million globally. Companion‘s CinemaScore puts it in the same bracket as The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, A Quiet Place: Day One, and Speak No Evil. A couple of weeks ago, Universal’s Wolf Man debuted with a C- CinemaScore and bombed commercially. The top-rated horror movies of the post-pandemic era, both with A- grades, are A Quiet Place: Part II and Five Nights At Freddy’s. The worst-rated post-pandemic horror release is The Exorcism, which earned a D CinemaScore.

‘Companion’ Has Been Compared to ‘Black Mirror’

Produced on a reported budget of $10 million, Companion debuted to positive reviews, and holds a “fresh” 83% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. In her review, Collider’s Emma Kiely described Companion as “a well-paced, exciting thriller filled with hilarious, detestable, and compelling characters,” and praised Hancock’s “razor-sharp script” for its social commentary. Also starring Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend, Companion is playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.