'Wolf Man' Still Trails its Disastrous Precursor by Over $100 Million at Global Box Office

Wolfman

By Rahul Malhotra

Published Feb 2, 2025

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Image via Universal

When Universal decided to abandon its ambitious Dark Universe and re-introduce the Classic Monsters in scaled-down films, it would've done so under the assumption that they didn't warrant tent-pole budgets. But as it turns out, audiences don't seem to be too interested in watching the director-driven version of this franchise either. The recently released Wolf Man, directed by Leigh Whannell, is all set to conclude its theatrical run, having barely recovered its production costs. The movie was released to lukewarm reviews a couple of weeks ago, after which it experienced a tragic decline in revenue.

With $19.9 million domestically and another $8.9 million from overseas markets, Wolf Man has grossed $29 million worldwide so far, against a reported production budget of $25 million. The movie will pass the $30 million mark, but will ultimately fall well short of even the most modest expectations. There is a strong pedigree behind the movie, with Whannell having previously taken The Invisible Man reboot to massive success in 2020. In fact, it was that film's $140 million-plus worldwide haul that influenced Universal's idea to pivot.

The studio had previously put together a major line-up of projects featuring some of the most iconic Monsters in its stable. But the under-performance of Tom Cruise's The Mummy brought the franchise to a screeching halt. In 2010, director Joe Johnston's The Wolfman reboot flopped as well, failing to recover its reported $150 million production budget. Starring Benicio Del Toro and Emliy Blunt, the film grossed a little over $140 million worldwide. In recent years, the studio has released films such as Renfield, Abigail, and The Last Voyage of the Demeter, all of which offered inventive spins on vampire mythology. All of them also underperformed commercially, although they have their share of admirers. Wolf Man, however, opened to mixed reviews. The movie holds a "rotten" 52% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

Christopher Abbott Just Can't Catch a Break

In her review, Collider's Emma Kiely criticized Jason Blum's Blumhouse banner for tainting Whannell's track record, and for producing some of "the worst horror releases in recent years for Universal, namely Five Nights at Freddy’s, Night Swim, and Exorcist: Believer." Wolf Man also marked the second dud in a row for star Christopher Abbott, who was recently seen in a supporting role in the superhero bomb Kraven the Hunter, which grossed just around half of its reported $120 million production budget.