X/@FilmUpdates
Death is back in town, and the business is booming. Final Destination Bloodlines opened with a gross of $51 million domestic, overshadowing two of its predecessors right away in the opening weekend alone. This means more than what Final Destination 5 ($42M) and Final Destination 2 ($46M) made for their entire theatrical run. Remember, the franchise has been dodging the grim reaper since the year 2000.
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The track record shows people do indeed need creative pathways to death with harrowing last-minute escapes. Needless to say, Bloodlines intends to provide exactly that, with a few new elements of mythology sprinkled over the storyline. One viewer commented that the film cleverly links a certain character throughout the entire franchise, giving long-time fans an old-school “Aha!” moment amid screams. Not that everyone was impressed; one critic went on to say that the camerawork is nothing but “straight to DVD” quality. This review most certainly stings.
The social media response ranges from adrenaline to downright existential dread: “Another generation of people is about to be traumatized,” one Twitter user wrote, while another screamed on Twitter, “BECAUSE IT WAS FIRE ASFFFFF,” in all caps. Fair enough. Even the skeptics seem to want to get into the frenzy, showing that the appeal of the franchise carries itself strong after six entries.
Mind-bogglingly, Bloodlines feels both nostalgic and current at the same time. The signature death scenes (we are not going to spoil them here) are said to walk that fine line between downright silly and insanely terrifying. In light of box office results, let alone the figures behind them, this is a formula that can still sell- death is inevitable, but the expiration date for this franchise is always being pushed further down.
Final Destination fans are halfway through their journey to create theories about future sequels, with one person tweeting, “Death never skips a sequel- Bloodlines just carved a box office legacy.” That is so true. Hence, by way of this strong opening, they might stand a good chance of furthering the chapters of Final Destination sooner than expected. Maybe we’ll finally get to see that log truck from part 2 being trumped.
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For now, numbers talk. A $51 million gross is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a horror sequel. Be it for the kills, the mythology, or just good fun on how people cheat Death in nifty ways, Bloodlines is definitely passing with flying colors now. Don’t go driving after the show if you see a truck carrying some weird cargo, though.