Can Renfield Become the Most Successful Vampire Movie of All Time?

Vampires have been ever-present in popular culture for more than a century, with Bram Stoker’s Dracula easily one of the most influential works of all time. Despite the genre being well-loved by a broad range of people, there have been few vampire movies that have been commercial megahits.

Indeed, in the list of the top five vampire movies of all time, none of them are classed as horrors. The most successful was Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which brought in $829.7 million at the box office. The upcoming comedy horror, Renfield, has the potential to outdo the 2012 film.

Renfield Has a Lot Working in Its Favour

While there have been innumerable adaptations of Dracula over the years, Renfield is a character that hasn’t been explored as much. The familiar to the Count was included in the original source material, however, and the character has also been highly influential. Indeed, many modern vampire works such as What We Do in the Shadows feature familiars living alongside vampires.

Renfield should be able to capitalise on the popularity of more obscure vampire offerings in recent times, as it will be a crossover with horror and comedy elements. It tells the story of Renfield as he tries to get out from under Dracula’s shadow, making a new life for himself in New Orleans.

There are some huge names behind the new offering from Universal Pictures, which should add to its global appeal and chances of sweeping up at the box office. Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, and Awkwafina make for some great casting choices, and the idea comes from the mind of The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman. All things considered; the movie has a great chance of being a smash hit.

New Picture Can Exploit the Modern Franchise Model

When the final instalment of the Twilight saga was released, the picture didn’t have the marketing streams that modern franchises have at their disposal. Nowadays, blockbuster movies can maximise their revenue by branching out into other media to get the attention of varying demographics.

Gaming has proven to be a hugely successful outlet for movies, with the mobile industry boosting titles massively. For example, the Jurassic World trilogy cleaned up at the box office thanks to related games like Jurassic World Alive.

Another avenue is to branch out into the booming iGaming market which is continuing to expand throughout the USA. Indeed, new sites are cropping up in key states, with New Jersey leading the way. One of the top licensed New Jersey casino games at the moment is Blood Suckers, a vampire-themed slot game from NetEnt. It acts as one of the main draws to the site for players, with many people in search of vampire themes. Renfield could easily be expanded into games like this to propel the film’s fortunes.

Another way to help cement Renfield’s legacy would be to create a spinoff series. If there are other memorable characters in the film, they could be explored further in television adaptations for streaming platforms. A prime example of this was the recent release of Peacemaker on HBO Max. The series followed one of the secondary characters from 2021’s The Suicide Squad and was met with critical acclaim.

If Renfield capitalises on modern marketing methods, there’s a good chance that it could be one of the highest-earning vampire pictures of all time. Of course, it will need to be well received by critics as well, but that’s highly likely with its high-quality cast and writers.