Poltergeist 2015

How Well Did Poltergeist (2015) Perform?

Summer blockbusters usually open on Memorial Day Weekend. This year was no different with Tomorrowland: A World Beyond, with an astronomical budget of $190 million, opening. The reboot Poltergeist, modestly made for $35 million, opened to mixed reviews and sluggish theater-goers. So, how did it stack up?

Poltergeist had a solid fourth (4^th) place finish when the weekend wrapped up. It took in $23 million and should recoup the production costs in its second week. Not too bad for a reboot of a seminal classic.

Remake versus Reboot

A remake is a modernization of a former work. In this case, a remake would be an updated version of an older film. Essentially, the goal is for the director to recreate the earlier film while enhancing the content. Characters, locations, plots are the same.

A reboot, on the other hand, is a re-envisioned new film utilizing the theme but not necessarily the finer details. Actually, the reboot may only share the same title as the original film.

Although Poltergeist has been touted as a remake, I would consider it a reboot. While the films draw on similar plotlines, the characters changed. The decade changed. Poltergeist (2015), the reboot, adds another episode into the Poltergeist (1982), original classic, franchise.

Poltergeist 1982