Eight-Legged Freaks
Release Date:
July 17, 2002
Some of you out there might be thinking the same thing I did when I saw this title: "Hmm. Wonder if this has anything to do with spiders?" Well, if you did, give yourself a gold star, because that's *exactly* what this is about.
More specifically, this is about mutated spiders, grown to gigantic proportions due to a toxic waste spill in Nevada. And as is the norm with this type of film, the elephantine arachnids trade up the food chain for their prey, and humans become sustenance, no doubt in a variety of gory ways.
David Arquette, returning to the genre that first brought him fame, stars along with Kari Wuhrer, whose biggest credit is likely still Remote Control, and several other "Don't I know that face?" C-list actors serving as spider food.
Mutated creature movies need to be fun, either intentionally or unintentionally, as well as scary in order to work. They don't generally have huge box-office runs, but with a good trailer and marketing push and decent word-of-mouth, they can be moderately successful. But most of the time, mutated creature flicks do their best business in the ancillary markets of cable and video rentals. And for those, there's less need for good theatrical success, so as long as word-of-mouth doesn't have the film completely sucking, Warner Bros. should make a nice profit on what is likely a modest budget.
When the trailer comes along, we'll be better able to tell whether this is going to be as good as Bats or Lake Placid, or as bad as Attack of the Giant Lizard. I'm hoping it's more on the Bats line; I love a good mutated creature movie. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)
October 12, 2001
The film's title was changed from Arac Attack, ostensibly because that title sounded too similar phonetically to "Iraq Attack." (Kim Hollis/BOP)
November 8, 2001
Eight Legged Freaks has now been pushed from March to April to second quarter 2002. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
February 27, 2002
After being moved from April to the August Labor Day slot, Eight-Legged Freaks is now slated for a hotter July opening date. The quality of the trailers has been terrific and the reaction has been strong, so it's likely that Warner Bros. decided this was a film they might not want to dump. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
March 28, 2002
Eight Legged Freaks is now set to open against the next segment of the Halloween franchise as it moves back one week to July 19th.
May 7, 2002
The Eight Legged Freaks interactive site is available and a lot of fun. There's a PC executable version of their "Let the Squashing Begin" game available here or if Macs are more your flavor try this location. The game can also be played at the official Web site itself (it's linked above). Enjoy! (Kim Hollis/BOP)
July 3, 2002
The film will now open on a Wednesday. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Comparison films for Eight-Legged Freaks |
Title |
Date |
Opening |
Adjusted Opening |
Screens |
PSA |
Adj PSA |
Total BO |
Adjusted Total |
Mult |
| Deep Blue Sea |
7/30/99 | 19.11 |
22.77 |
2854 |
6696.00 |
7645.0 |
73.65 |
87.76 |
3.54 |
| Anaconda |
4/11/97 | 16.62 |
21.83 |
2456 |
6767.00 |
8550.9 |
65.50 |
86.04 |
3.94 |
| Lake Placid |
7/16/99 | 10.97 |
13.07 |
2095 |
5236.00 |
5978.1 |
31.65 |
37.71 |
2.89 |
| Arachnophobia |
7/20/90 | 8.05 |
11.50 |
1479 |
5443.00 |
7480.9 |
53.21 |
76.03 |
6.31 |
| Bats |
10/22/99 | 4.72 |
5.62 |
2560 |
1844.00 |
2105.4 |
10.15 |
12.09 |
2.15 |
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