Sam Raimi's 'Drag Me To Hell' Gets a Summer 2009 Release Date

Spurred on by the rather remarkable success of The Strangers, Ghost House Pictures and Universal will now release Sam Raimi's hopefully triumphant return to horror on the same weekend next year. Shock Till You Drop reports that the devilishly titled Drag Me To Hell will open on May 29, 2009, meaning it will compete against the Pixar flick, Up, indicating a few things right off the bat. For starters, it tells us that the studio believes in Sam Raimi as a brand just as much as Disney and Pixar believe in themselves. Even though this won't make half of the money Up will, it's an indication that there are enough Sam Raimi fans out there who want him to return to horror, a genre he knows so well after the Evil Dead trilogy. It also makes a statement about how well smart horror can do in the middle of summer. The Strangers, despite whispers about its release date being pushed back several times and despite not having much of a marketing budget, made $20 million on its opening weekend, opposite Sex and the City. It has gone on to make over $50 million so far, a cozy $40 million profit before video and international receipts are counted. Clearly, that's what they're hoping for with Drag Me To Hell, which will be able to do a lot more business on its own, will probably command a healthier marketing budget, and should be excellent counterprogramming to Up. That's the third bell this news rings for me: Look at what Wanted did against Wall-E. Don't you think Universal would be over the moon to put over even $30 million opening against a Pixar movie? I hope it's as good as it should be. I know a lot of people were bummed when Ellen Page left the project, but snagging Alison Lohman is not a significant dropoff in my opinion. Hell, she was good in White Oleander; what does that tell you? It tells me that she can easily handle being cursed by a mysterious old woman in Drag Me to Hell.