Neon’s “Longlegs” has officially crossed the $100 million mark at the global box office. Director Osgood Perkins’ acclaimed, R-rated serial killer film has been blazing in theaters for the past month despite stiff competition from films like “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Twisters” and “Inside Out 2.” Now, the film has earned its place in the record books, becoming the highest-grossing indie horror film in a decade.
According to the press release, “Longlegs” has grossed $72 million in North America, while the bulk of its ever-growing total has come from foreign markets. The film has now become the highest-grossing R-rated horror film of the year, as well as Neon’s highest-grossing film to date, surpassing Best Picture-winner “Parasite.” It started with a staggering $22 million opening weekend in mid-July, setting the film up for one of 2024’s most impressive box office runs to date. Given a modest $10 million production budget and frugal marketing spend, the film will likely turn a handsome profit for everyone involved.
By my calculations, “Longlegs” is now the biggest indie horror hit since James Wan’s “Insidious” ($99.5 million worldwide) in 2011. That says a lot, considering that Wan is a very audience-friendly filmmaker, also behind the “Saw” and “Conjuring” franchises. Perkins, on the other hand, is a challenging director who made an uncompromising, extremely dark movie about a deranged serial killer that somehow managed to cut through the noise and become the biggest horror hit of 2024 so far. To say that this is impressive would be an understatement.
Longlegs is an unlikely $100 million success story
Neon deserves a lot of credit for launching a great marketing campaign for “Longlegs.” They chose to cast Nicolas Cage as the main killer, forcing eager viewers to rush to the theater to see the Oscar winner’s wild transformation. They managed to hinge the campaign on dark, ominous intrigue, with “It Follows” star Maika Monroe in the lead role. The “less is more” approach appealed to people and, even though the response was a little mixed among general moviegoers, the film generated must-see buzz that drove an incredible number of people to see the film week after week.
The first half of 2024 was a rough one, with many films underperforming, leaving theaters with a dearth of hits. The hits have been coming in steadily in the second half of the year, with “Deadpool and Wolverine” recently becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, not to mention the phenomenal success of “Inside Out 2,” which is now one of the biggest movies in history. It’s one thing for a big franchise blockbuster to sell a lot of tickets. It’s another thing entirely for an indie film like this to become a huge hit without any conditions. It’s an unexpected success story, but it’s a welcome one.
Neon is looking pretty smart right now, as they’ve just reteamed with Perkins for an adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Monkey.” Plus, that film is already completed and set to hit theaters in February, which means they should be able to capitalize on the momentum they’ve built up. What will Perkins do after that? Whatever it is, he’ll certainly have no shortage of options.
“Longlegs” is in theaters now.
