Halloween might be long over, but the power of horror fans lives on. Earlier this year, M. Night Shyamalan released his latest horror/thriller Trap to decent box office success, earning $82 million worldwide on a reported budget of just $30 million. With a better performance in the US than in all overseas markets combined, it’s clear the hunger for Trap was at its best in the US. This is also clear when looking at the streaming charts for Max, with Trap consistently hitting the top 10.
As recently as Thursday, November 28, Trap rose to ninth in the list, dropping James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome into tenth and proving that the desire for a Shyamalan thriller is still high. However, although the movie is well-watched, it hasn’t fared quite so well with critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 57% only slightly bettered by receiving a more respectable audience rating of 65%. In Collider’s Ross Bonaime‘s review of the film, he spoke about how Trap struggles when compared to the best in Shyamalan’s filmography, saying:
”
Like Cooper himself,
Trap
always feels just slightly…off, as though this isn’t
quite
what it should be.
There isn’t the building fear or tension that this film needs, and when it does seem close to hitting its potential, Shyamalan gets in his own way. For the man who used to be able to makeSamuel L. Jackson
or footage of an alien at a child’s birthday party a truly unnerving experience, he now struggles with making a trapped serial killer an intriguing affair.
Trap
isn’t Shyamalan’s worst by a longshot, and it certainly has its moments, but seeing those glimpses of the old Shyamalan almost makes things worse. At this point in his career, Shyamalan’s biggest twist is his inability to utilize the tools that once made him such a promising filmmaker.”
How Does ‘Trap’ Compare to Other 2024 Box Office Horror Movies?
Horror movies have certainly been successful in 2024, with brand-new creations, US adaptations, and big-budget sequels pushing the genre past many a milestone. For Trap, a worldwide $82 million haul saw the film finish in the top 50 movies at the global box office in 2024, although a selection of other horrors have fared better. Surprise hit Longlegs accumulated an impressive $125 million and is sitting in 36th place; Smile 2 is two places higher in 34th with a global total of $136 million, and prequel A Quiet Place: Day One is in 20th place with $260 million. Alongside other horrors such as Speak No Evil, The Substance, and Terrifier 3, the genre has had a year to remember, with 2025 looking just as enticing.
You can catch M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap on Max now.
Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
- Release Date
- August 2, 2024
- Cast
- Josh Hartnett , Hayley Mills , Marnie McPhail , Ariel Donoghue
Watch on Max