As the title implies, “Day One” will take us back to the first day that aliens arrived on Earth to disrupt life as we know it. While Krasinski’s first two films offered bits and pieces of what happened to the world, this movie promises to show society’s downfall and why the world went quiet from the start. Michael Sarnoski (“Pig”) is in the director’s chair. The cast includes Lupita Nyong’o (“Black Panther”), Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things”), Alex Wolff (“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”), and Djimon Hounsou (“Shazam! Fury of the Gods”).
The first “A Quiet Place” opened to $50.2 million in 2018 on its way to $340.9 million worldwide. Despite pandemic circumstances, 2021’s “A Quiet Place: Part II” kept the hot streak alive with a $47.5 million opening en route to a $297.3 million global finish. The first film was made for just $17 million, while the sequel got a heftier $61 million budget. Odds are, Paramount tried to keep the prequel in a similar range. That said, even if it’s $80 million, let’s say, a $40 million opening sets it up for an easy $100 million domestic haul, assuming reviews are even halfway decent.
It would be tough to imagine the movie not clearing $200 million globally, barring a disastrous response. That would still easily put this in the win column for Paramount. It would also mean we’ll have a new global Hollywood horror champion very soon, as “Night Swim” ($54 million) is the current head of the pack. That’s a pretty low bar to clear. Given that ticket sales for the year were down 26% before “Inside Out 2” had its record-breaking $295 million global opening recently, this couldn’t be coming at a better time.
“A Quiet Place: Part One” is set to hit theaters on June 28, 2024.