‘Kringles’ Krashes at Box Office (Too Soon?)
Comedy favorites can't coax audiences to sample Christmas shocker
It’s one thing to revolt against “Elf,” “Christmas Vacation” or “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Yes, there can be too much of a good thing.
But some love nothing more than welcoming Santa Season with blood, gore and entrails.
Think:
- “Black Christmas”
- “Silent Night, Deadly Night”
- “Krampus”
- “Better Watch Out”
- “Violent Night“
- “It’s a Wonderful Knife”
- “Terrifier 3”
And many more. The 2022 sleeper hit “Violent Night” drew a big enough crowd to spark a sequel, coming our way Dec. 4.
That boded well for “Christmas at the Kringles.” The horror comedy dropped over the weekend, bringing some familiar faces with it. Think Thomas Lennon (“Reno 911!”), Rob Riggle (“Modern Family“) and Ron Livingston (“Office Space“).
Here’s the official synopsis:
Synopsis: The story follows the Seversons, a family starting fresh in a quiet suburban neighborhood, whose next-door neighbors, the Kringles, celebrate Christmas year-round. What begins as charming quickly turns unsettling, as Mark and Julie grow concerned about their son’s growing attachment to the family. After a heated confrontation, Mark heads next door to bring his family home only to uncover the Kringles’ true intentions: to hypnotize and indoctrinate them. What follows is a life-or-death rescue mission, as Mark teams up with a rogue, badass Santa in a high-stakes, action-packed fight to save his family.
Sounds fun … except audiences stayed far, far away.
The film opened on nearly 2,000 screens and earned far less than $1 million. Here’s Deadline.com with the specifics: $675k at 1,825 locations.
Has the Evil Santa fever broken? Or did “Kringles” open a few weeks too soon, failing to capitalize on Grinches aghast at another yuletide season?
It’s a head scratcher. It’s often easy to read the tea leaves and process why a film or TV project fails or soars.
Too woke. Too familiar. Too unnecessary.
This time feels far less certain. The cast members bring plenty of goodwill to the project, and the trailer is cheeky enough to draw the horror crowd, particularly on Halloween weekend.
So we’ll defer to the late, great William Goldman. His evergreen quote on Hollywood often makes the most sense.