Summary
As expected, the stench of death inFinal Destination Bloodlinesseemed toopotent for the audience to ignore.Afterbeing met with a thunderous welcome at the box office and earning a franchise record, nothing is stopping a seventh return from happening.
Final Destination Bloodlinesis the sixth installment in theFinal Destinationhorrorseries of films and the first in fourteen years. The story follows a cursed bloodline, where members begin dying under mysterious circumstances, all tied to a catastrophic event their matriarch was never meant to survive five decades earlier. Originally introduced as a franchise reboot in the wake ofFinal Destination 5’ssuccess, the project eventually evolved into a full-fledged sequel, weaving in narrative threads and characters from earlier films. Among its most anticipated elements is the return of Tony Todd’s iconic William Bludworth for one final, ominous appearance.
Final Destination BloodlinesScored The Biggest Opening In The Franchise By Leaps And Bounds
It’s Also on Course to Surpass Their Global Total As Early as Next Week
Heading into its debut weekend, industry forecasts placed the film’s domestic opening at between $35 and $40 million. It’s a respectable figure, butBloodlinesquickly demolished it. According toVariety,the film grossed $51 million in North America and an identical $51 million across 71 overseas markets, for a five-day $102 million global opening(including Wednesday and Thursday previews). Not only did this easily sweep the U.S. box office hierarchy this week, but it’s more than what the next four competitors—Thunderbolts*($16.5 million), Sinners ($15.4 million),A Minecraft Movie($5.8 million), andThe Accountant 2($4.9 million)—combined.
Final Destination Bloodlines’ domestic debut is by far the biggest in the franchise and makes a mockery of its predecessors. For reference,the firstFinal Destinationopened with $10 million in 2000;Final Destination 2, $16.2 million;Final Destination 3, $20.1 million;Final Destination 4, $27.4 million; andFinal Destination 5, $18 million. The latest installment has already surpassed the entire global box office haul ofFinal Destination 2($90.4 million) and will inevitably do the same to all previous films by next week, per industry analystLuiz Fernando on X. That’s right:Bloodlineswill be the highest-grossing movie in the franchise in as little as seven days!
The records spill over to the R-rated and horror genres as well:Halloween Kills’ $49.4 million is no longer the biggest post-COVID R-rated horror opening.
There are a couple of insights to glean from this success story. First, long waits between sequels are no death sentence—take note,The Batman: Part 2. Second, sometimes all it takes is clever marketing.Warner Bros. pulled off some impressive stunts while promotingBloodlines, including a log-filled truck on a highway; fans still dread the “highway to hell” scene in the second film.And third, when the creative strategy aligns with bold promotion, Warner Bros. can deliver box office hat-tricks:A Minecraft Movie,Sinners, and now this.
With a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid B+ Cinemascore, among the franchise’s best-ever,Final Destination Bloodlinesis poised to break the series' trend of short-lived momentum. Don’t expectlegs as mature as Ryan Coogler’sSinners’, though. That would be a gigantic ask for any film.
