Last week, Hereditary finished within the top 5 at the U.S. box office, with its $13 million domestic gross setting a record as independent movie studio A24’s largest opening ever. A24 is responsible for some extremely well-regarded movies such as the Oscar Best Picture winner Moonlight, and similarly praised films such as Ex Machina, The Disaster Artist, and Lady Bird to name a few, proving this record to be no small feat. Additionally Hereditary scored an astronomically high 92% Rotten Tomatoes score as well as an arguably even more impressive score of 86 on Metacritic (and a perfect 4 star rating from Cinematic Insights). Despite all of this overwhelming acclaim, the film received an atrocious D+ CinemaScore from audiences, which is very much at odds with what critics have been praising about the film. This result begs the question of why this discrepancy exists.
Here are the 4 reasons why audiences and critics are split on Hereditary.
Mild spoiler alert, as unlike with reviews here, this analysis will touch on more specifics to the plot as this is essential to why audience members may have formed a negative attitude towards the film.
1. Unrealistic Hype
Hereditary was released for critics all the way back in January of this year during the Sundance Film Festival. This allowed many critics to see the film and post rave reviews in advance of the film’s theatrical release almost 5 months after the fact, as the marketing for independent films is more reliant on the early critical reviews in comparison with mainstream blockbusters. Many of the critics had compared the film to long-cherished horror films such as The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, so naturally this generated a great deal of hype for the film to live up to. Much of the promotional material for Hereditary also focused on these rave reviews, resulting in possibly insurmountable anticipation for potential moviegoers. As is often the case when someone is telling you a movie is one of the best films they’ve ever seen, this can result in an overly harsh judgment from the new viewer if the film even slightly falls short of expectations. By comparison many of the critics who posted their early reviews didn’t have this level of hype, and they were most likely just pleasantly surprised to see how accomplished the film was from a first-time director they had never experienced in Ari Aster.
2. Horror Genre Appeals to People for Different Reasons
Unlike most genres, the horror category has a multitude of sub-genres, with anything from slasher flicks to ghost stories being members of this overarching category. This means that two moviegoers could both be fans of horror, but in reality, enjoy two very different types of films with one having a preference for supernatural and fantasy elements, while others resonate more strongly with events that could in all actuality happen in real life. The Hereditary trailer definitely alluded to the film being rooted in the supernatural variant of horror, however, it wasn’t explicitly clear with many viewers possibly believing the film to be more grounded in reality and solely depicting a deranged little girl with a penchant for murder. As a result, when the movie turned out to be strictly a ghost story dealing with demonic possession this could have been disappointing for some horror fans.
3. Younger Viewers Have Different Expectations
It should be noted that according to Box Office Mojo’s data, 74% of the audience was composed of viewers under the age of 34. The film was also particularly front-loaded, making 9.5% more in ticket sales on Friday, which is also indicative of a younger audience viewing the film. As is often the case, this demographic is typically more interested in fast-paced horror films in which the scares are constant and will make you jump out of your seat. Hereditary was not this type of horror film, as it wasn’t until the finale that the explicitly horrific and gory sequences occurred. The remainder of the film had horrific images intermittently appearing, but it was primarily about the mental deterioration of the family and the different impact grief can have. From my experience during the showing I attended, there were numerous moviegoers who seemed as if they went to this film mainly with a desire to be frightened, with many shrieking at inopportune times, as Hereditary didn’t possess many jump out of your seat moments. As a result, this lack of jump scares may have been unsatisfying for the younger audience.
4. Art House Film Sensibility Not for Everyone
Although all film critics are aware of the difference between art films and more mainstream films, this distinction is often not clear to general audiences. Art films generally opt for utilizing unconventional or highly symbolic content that are more experimental in nature, especially in regard to the narrative technique. This is in sharp contrast with mass market films with larger budgets that present a more accessible and familiar story, as studios want the safest bet to earn back their investment. These less straightforward stories in which exploring the psyche of the characters and their horrific situation takes precedence over a clear and conventional story aren’t for everyone, as many viewers find this style plodding and do not find this psychological exploration rewarding.
Such a reluctance from casual moviegoers to embrace this style of filmmaking is supported by similar films to Hereditary such as The Witch and It Comes at Night receiving abysmal CinemaScores of C- and D respectively. In comparison, A Quiet Place, which was also a critically extoled horror flick, was a far more accessible story, and received a strong B+ CinemaScore most likely as a result. Hereditary possessed many traits of an art film, which may have been disappointing to less discerning audience members, resulting in a negative attitude towards their viewing experience.
Conclusion
While it’s disappointing when audience members aren’t pleased with a new release, the good news for Hereditary is that the film has already earned back its budget of $10 million, sending the film on its way to becoming a huge financial success. Additionally, according to Box Office Mojo, the film only dropped by 48% the following weekend with an additional $7 million gross, indicating that the poor audience appraisal doesn’t seem to be hurting the film’s legs at the box office. Based upon this minimal drop and there being limited competition for the horror genre until the release of The First Purge on July 6th, it doesn’t appear that poor word of mouth will be an issue for Hereditary’s box office performance.
