Neon's low-budget horror film "Hokum" opened at No. 5 in North America this weekend, earning $6.4 million from 1,885 screens in its debut, a strong return for a film that cost $5 million to produce.
Directed by Damian McCarthy, whose previous feature "Oddity" built a cult following among genre fans, the film stars Adam Scott as Ohm Bauman, a novelist who retreats to a remote inn in Ireland to scatter his parents' ashes. Once there, he becomes obsessed with local tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a sudden disappearance force him to confront his past. The supporting cast includes Brendan Conroy, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Michael Patric, Will O'Connell, and Florence Ordesh.
The film opened behind four major studio releases — "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "Michael," "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," and "Project Hail Mary" — all playing on significantly wider screens. Despite that competition, "Hokum" landed with solid critical and audience scores: it is Certified Fresh at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, holds an 82% Popcornmeter, and earned a B CinemaScore.
The Hollywood Reporter noted the opening as "respectable" in a weekend dominated by much larger titles. Deadline reported the overall domestic box office is up 18% this weekend compared to the same weekend a year ago, citing data from Comscore.
"Hokum" marks the first release under Neon's partnership with Spooky Pictures, which has a co-production arrangement with Image Nation. Neon is also handling international sales on the film.
Elsewhere in the specialty space, Angel Studios' animated adaptation of George Orwell's "Animal Farm," directed by Andy Serkis, opened at No. 6 with $3.4 million from 2,600 screens. The film features voice performances from Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Glenn Close, and Woody Harrelson. Renny Harlin's shark thriller "Deep Water," produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons and starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, debuted at 1,675 locations for $2.15 million. RZA's revenge thriller "One Spoon of Chocolate," starring Shameik Moore, grossed $574,000 on 636 screens in its opening weekend.
On the event cinema side, the Met Opera's live HD broadcast of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" grossed approximately $670,000 from a single Saturday screening at around 800 cinemas across North America. Encore screenings are scheduled in select U.S. theaters on May 6.
