Gothika
Release Date:
November 21, 2003
Miranda Grey, a dedicated criminal psychologist, awakes one day to find herself a patient in her own mental institution, accused of brutally murdering her husband, a fellow psychologist and chief administrator of a prison psych ward. Although she has no memory of the night in question save for a strange encounter with a cryptic young woman and all evidence in the crime implicates her alone, Miranda continues to proclaim her innocence. Her denial is seen by friends and colleagues and even former patients as indicative of a true psychotic break, signaling a deeper descent into madness, but Miranda is undaunted in her quest to prove that she is not only not guilty of the crime, but is also not insane. In her struggle to exonerate herself and regain her freedom, Miranda discovers she is being used by a vengeful spirit, and must learn why she has been targeted and how to fight back before the demonic force truly robs her of her sanity.
Gothika comes to us courtesy of Dark Castle Entertainment, which is continuing to branch out from its originally-stated mandate of remaking impresario William Castle’s film oeuvre. As with previous Dark Castle Productions, Gothika boasts quite the impressive cast, with Halle Berry starring as the beleaguered Dr Grey, and supporting players including Robert Downey, Jr as a concerned but skeptical colleague and friend, Charles S Dutton as Miranda’s ill-fated spouse, and Penelope Cruz as a dangerous patient in Miranda’s institution. The film is currently slated for release on October 24, 2003, following Dark Castle’s established pattern of a near-Hallowe’en offering, where they have found a fair amount of success to date. Given Dark Castle’s track record, coupled with the intriguing storyline and impressive cast list, and Gothika seems positioned to make quite a splash this fall at the box office. It might even be the breakout film that could propel Dark Castle into the big boy’s league, perhaps even placing in the pantheon of such horror studio greats as Hammer and American International Pictures, an honor it is increasingly demonstrating it deserves. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)
September 25, 2003 Warner Bros has pushed this release back a month into late November, possibly to set it apart from the glut of horror/suspense films dominating the October calendar. (Jennifer Turnock/BOP)
Comparison films for Gothika |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
What Lies Beneath |
7/21/00 | 29.70 |
33.22 |
2813 |
10558.00 |
11361.1 |
155.37 |
173.81 |
5.23 |
Thirteen Ghosts |
10/26/01 | 15.17 |
16.19 |
2781 |
5455.00 |
5599.8 |
41.87 |
44.68 |
2.76 |
Twelve Monkeys |
1/5/96 | 13.84 |
18.88 |
1533 |
9028.00 |
11846.7 |
57.14 |
77.95 |
4.10 |
Lost Souls |
10/13/00 | 7.95 |
8.89 |
1970 |
4036.00 |
4343.0 |
16.71 |
18.69 |
2.10 |
In Dreams |
1/15/99 | 4.09 |
4.87 |
1670 |
2449.00 |
2796.1 |
11.94 |
14.22 |
2.60 |
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