Oscar Predictions: Wolf Man

Leigh Whannell follows up his acclaimed horror reboot The Invisible Man from 2020 with another iconic interpretation of a genre classic in Wolf Man this weekend. Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner headline the low-budget Universal/Blumhouse production with Matilda Firth and Sam Jaeger costarring.

Originally planned as a vehicle for director Derek Cianfrance to star Ryan Gosling, Wolf is not generating the same acclaim as its replacement filmmaker’s previous venture. Invisible topped out at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 72 for Metacritic. Wolf currently sports a 60% Tomato meter with Metacritic at 49.

The only race where Wolf stands a shot at awards attention is Makeup & Hairstyling (for the latter designation of that category). 2010’s The Wolfman with Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt actually won the Oscar for Makeup (before the Academy apparently cared about hair). A safe assumption is that voters won’t have this picture fresh in their minds a year from now to nominate it, but let’s see how competition stacks up. My Oscar Prediction posts will continue…

Wolf Man Box Office Prediction

Universal and Blumhouse are looking for their Wolf Man reboot to tantalize audiences when it opens January 17th. Leigh Whannell, who wrote Saw and directed 2020’s successful The Invisible Man, helms with Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner headlining. Costars include Matilda Firth and Sam Jaeger.

A decade ago, this project was intended to be part of the Dark Universe franchise that started and ended with 2017’s The Mummy starring Tom Cruise. The box office for that feature stalled future installments and this pic has gone through various contributors before the final 2025 version.

Unlike The Mummy, there’s little question that this will be a profitable venture. The budget is reportedly $25 million. This could make close to $20 million out of the gate and maybe even top that figure under the best case scenario. Yet I’ll say mid to high teens is likelier.

Wolf Man opening weekend prediction: $16.6 million

For my One of Them Days prediction, click here: