By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — One way to tell if a film has been successful is when there’s talk about a sequel. That’s the case with the horror film “The Blackening,” which was made on a shoestring budget. It did so well that MRC and Lionsgate are developing a sequel. The production, which neatly blended gore, comedy and pop culture references, was created by the duo of Dewayne Perkins and Tracy Oliver. It had a sparse budget of five million dollars. Thus far it has earned more than than $18 million at the box office. So it’s not a surprise that producer MRC and domestic distributor Lionsgate have entered into talks with Perkins, Oliver and producer E. Brian Dobbins to develop a sequel, maybe even a television series down the line.
“The Blackening” is directed by Tim Story and co-written by Perkins and Oliver. It follows the exploits of a group of college friends who reunite for Juneteenth weekend and are hunted by a killer who asks them to determine who is the Blackest among them. The premise takes aim at the common horror movie trope that sees Black characters dying first. Perkins initially conceived the story as a sketch for his comedy troupe 3Peat. They developed it into a short for Comedy Central. Then Oliver reached out to develop it into a feature.
The film debuted in 2022 as a TIFF Midnight Madness selection, where it was embraced by enthusiastic audiences. That response landed it a distribution deal from Lionsgate. “The Blackening” hit theaters over Juneteenth weekend, grossing $2.5 million in its first day of release on its way to a six million opening weekend haul. That figure is more impressive considering the horror-comedy’s production budget was only three million (the final tally came to five million after factoring in P&A).
In an interview, Oliver told Variety that “The Blackening’s” success has been empowering: “I keep telling the cast and other writers, there’s money out there. $3 million is a lot easier to come by than $20-50 million. We don’t have to necessarily wait for a studio to say ‘Yes’ anymore. For a Black person, that’s inspiring.” So far there has been nothing released regarding the plot for the sequel, but Perkins told Variety that he envisions “The Blackening” as a franchise, akin to a “Scary Movie”-esque series versus the “Knives Out” style with a new cast for each mystery. “Same group, sprinkle in some new people,” he explained. “I feel like we’ve got something good, and I love the dynamic, but fresh blood always turns things up a little bit.”
“The Blackening” stars Antoinette Robertson, Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, Jermaine Fowler, Yvonne Orji and Jay Pharoah. Marcei A. Brown, Jason Clark, Dobbins, Oliver, Story, and Sharla Sumpter Bridgett produced. Perkins serves as a co-producer, with Vicky Story as associate producer.
