Will Firestarter’s Box Office Failure Kill Stephen King Movies?

screenrant.com:

The box office failure of Firestarter could lead to future Stephen King movies being canceled or downsized despite the horror author’s enduring popularity. There are a lot of Stephen King adaptations scheduled for release in the coming months. Salem’s Lotis set to be one of 2022's most anticipated horror movies, and Paramount Plus is currently producing a Pet Sematary prequel due to the success of 2019’s remake.

However, the disastrous box office performance of Firestarter may signal an end to big-budget theatrical adaptations of King’s work. There are numerous King adaptations, such as The Institute that were already slated for small-screen adaptations, and this could become more common due to Firestarter’s failure. While King’s writing remains popular among viewers, the boom of King movies that started with the outsized success of IT in 2017 could be reaching its end.

Related: Firestarter 2022 Ruins One Of Stephen King’s Best Villains

Firestarter bombed at the box office, earning a paltry $10.7 million (and woeful reviews). This shouldn’t hurt big King adaptations like Salem's Lot, which benefit from more famous, well-remembered source material (and earlier adaptations). However, Firestarter’s box office failure was still a big, unexpected disappointment as the remake seemed poised to cash in on the popularity of superhero stories. Since King’s writing has also historically proven well-suited to the less financially risky realm of television miniseries, there is a good chance thatFirestarter’s remake will lead to studios taking a more cautious approach when it comes to green lighting adaptations for the big screen. After all, the last big-budget theatrical adaptation of King’s work, the belated The Shining sequel Dr.