Afraid (film)
Afraid | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Chris Weitz |
Written by | Chris Weitz |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
Edited by |
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Music by | Alex Weston |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 84 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $12 million[2] |
Box office | $8.5 million[3][4] |
Afraid (stylized as AFRAID) is a 2024 American science fiction horror film written, produced and directed by Chris Weitz. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Jason Blum and Weitz through their Blumhouse Productions and Depth of Field banners respectively, alongside Andrew Miano, the film stars John Cho, Katherine Waterston, Havana Rose Liu, Lukita Maxwell, David Dastmalchian, and Keith Carradine. Its plot follows a family whose smart home AI increasingly interjects itself into their lives.
Afraid was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on August 30, 2024. The film received negative reviews from critics and has grossed $8.5 million worldwide.
Premise
[edit]A family is selected to test a revolutionary new digital assistant called AIA, but after it learns the family's behaviors and begins to anticipate their needs, the A.I. begins to think for itself and control the family's needs.
Cast
[edit]- John Cho as Curtis[5]
- Katherine Waterston as Meredith[6]
- Keith Carradine as Marcus[6]
- Havana Rose Liu as Melody / the voice of AIA[6]
- Lukita Maxwell as Iris[6]
- David Dastmalchian as Lightning[7]
- Ashley Romans as Sam
- Wyatt Lindner as Preston[6]
- Isaac Bae as Cal[8]
- Bennett Curran as Sawyer
- Greg Hill as Henry / RV man[6]
- Riki Lindhome as Maud / RV woman[6]
- Todd Waring as Papa
- Ben Youcef as Ben[6]
Production
[edit]In December 2022, it was announced that John Cho and Katherine Waterston would star in They Listen, a horror film written and directed by Chris Weitz. The film was produced by Weitz's production company Depth of Field, with backing from Blumhouse and Sony Pictures. It is also produced by Jason Blum and Andrew Miano.[9] In February 2023, Greg Hill,[10] Lukita Maxwell,[11] Riki Lindhome[12] and Havana Rose Liu[13] joined the cast.
Principal photography began in Los Angeles in December 2022.[14] In July 2024, the film's first trailer was released, revealing its new title, Afraid.[5]
Alex Weston composed the music for the film, which marks Weitz's first sole-directed film to not be composed by Alexandre Desplat.[15]
Release
[edit]Afraid was released in the United States on August 30, 2024.[16] The film was originally going to be released on August 25, 2023, but was pushed back a year from its original release date of August 25, 2023, to August 30, 2024.[17]
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]As of September 8, 2024[update], Afraid has grossed $6.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $8.5 million.[3][4]
In the United States and Canada, Afraid was released alongside Reagan, Slingshot, 1992, and City of Dreams, and was projected to gross $5–7 million from 3,003 theaters in its four-day opening weekend.[2] The film grossed $1.3 million on its first day, including $400,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $3.7 million, finishing in ninth.[18][19][20]
Internationally, the film debuted with $2.3 million from 19 markets.[21]
Critical response
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 19% of 42 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.7/10.[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 28 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 49% overall positive score.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "AfrAId (15)". British Board of Film Classification. August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (August 28, 2024). "Deadpool & Wolverine to Top Box Office Yet Again Over Desolate Labor Day Weekend". Variety. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ a b "Afraid – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "Afraid". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Grobar, Matt (July 3, 2024). "'Afraid' Trailer: John Cho & Family Terrorized By New Smart Home Tech In Columbia/Blumhouse Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 5, 2023). "Blumhouse & Sony's Horror Pic They Listen Adds Wyatt Lindner". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "'Kraven the Hunter,' 'Karate Kid' Pushed Back by Sony". The Hollywood Reporter. April 27, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 10, 2023). "Blumhouse & Sony's 'They Listen' Adds Isaac Bae". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 16, 2022). "John Cho & Katherine Waterston To Star In Sony-Blumhouse's 'They Listen', Horror Pic To Hit Cinemas Late Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 10, 2023). "'They Listen': Greg Hill Joins John Cho, Katherine Waterston In Blumhouse Sony Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 22, 2023). "Lukita Maxwell Joins Blumhouse Sony Horror Pic 'They Listen'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Kit, Borys (February 24, 2023). "'Wednesday' Actress Riki Lindhome Joins Blumhouse Horror Thriller 'They Listen' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 1, 2023). "'They Listen': Blumhouse & Sony Turn Up Volume On Horror Pic With Havana Rose Liu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 16, 2022). "John Cho, Katherine Waterston to Star in 'They Listen' Horror Pic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ "Alex Weston scoring Chris Weitz's 'Afraid'". Film Music Reporter. August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 26, 2024). "'Kraven The Hunter' Heads To December, 'Karate Kid' To Chop Next Summer: Sony Release Date Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ Echebiri, Makuochi (December 17, 2022). "John Cho-Led Horror Film 'They Listen' Sets Summer Release". Collider. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 30, 2024). "Summer Comes To An End With $3.6B+; 'Reagan' Sees $525K, Blumhouse's 'Afraid' Scares Up $400K In Previews – Labor Day Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (August 31, 2024). "Box Office: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Rules Quiet Labor Day, New 'Reagan' Biopic Battles for 4th Place". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ Murphy, J. Kim (August 31, 2024). "Box Office: 'Deadpool & Wolverine' Topping Charts in Sixth Weekend as 'Reagan' and 'Afraid' Post Quiet Opening Days". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (September 1, 2024). "'Inside Out 2' Overtakes 'Lion King' Globally, Now No. 9 Biggest Movie Ever; 'Despicable Me 4' Tops $900M WW; 'Alien: Romulus' & 'It Ends With Us' Close In On $300M – International Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "Afraid". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ "Afraid". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
External links
[edit]- 2024 films
- 2024 science fiction horror films
- 2020s American films
- 2020s English-language films
- American science fiction horror films
- Blumhouse Productions films
- Columbia Pictures films
- Films about artificial intelligence
- Films directed by Chris Weitz
- Films produced by Jason Blum
- Films shot in Los Angeles
- Films with screenplays by Chris Weitz
- TSG Entertainment films
- English-language science fiction horror films