There was a time when M. Night Shyamalan was the hottest director in Hollywood. And then there was a time when he was…not. After going through a rough patch where Shyamalan’s work was not as warmly regarded by fans or critics, the director has now earned his fourth consecutive box office number one thanks to Knock at the Cabin, and nobody is more surprised than Shyamalan himself.
The director took to Twitter to celebrate his accomplishment and thank the fans who saw the film this past weekend and approved of Knock at the Cabin's fun ending, making it number one at the domestic box office. Not only did the flick post a win, but it became the movie that finally knocked Avatar: The Way of Water out of the top spot, and he gave director James Cameron a nod as well.
Thank you to all who made @KnockAtTheCabin the number one film this weekend! I am pinching myself that this is the seventh time this has happened to me. This is the fourth in a row with @UniversalPics. Much love to James Cameron, he’s a hero to me. Glad to be in theaters with youFebruary 5, 2023
Knock at the Cabin brought in an estimated $14 million at the domestic box office, which was enough to overcome both the Avatar sequel, in its eighth week, and also a decent showing by the comedy 80 For Brady. It marks the fourth consecutive box office win for Shyamalan, which includes Old, Glass, and Split. The other three movies on that list of number ones are The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Village.
With an additional $7 million in international box office Knock at the Cabin has done a bit over $21 million worldwide in its first weekend. Certainly, that number isn’t a massive blockbuster by any stretch, but one of the keys to Shyamalan’s success is that he tends to make movies that have remarkably small budgets. When the movies don’t hit it doesn’t usually hurt the studio that much, and when they are successful they are incredibly profitable, even compared to those massive billion-dollar blockbusters.
Following high-profile films like After Earth and The Last Airbender M. Night Shyamalan shifted back to the strategy that had made him successful the first time around, making smaller films without massive movie stars, though often still with names fans recognize. Built around a concept that was intriguing enough to draw in an audience. While it took Shyamalan some time to find success again, he certainly has. Even a movie like The Visit, which wasn’t a smash hit, and was downright reviled by some, ended up making almost $100 million globally on a budget of about $5 million. That’s the kind of success that makes studios want to give you money to make more movies.
This process also allows M. Night to make movies fast. He’s already got an untitled project slated for release 14 months from now. Whether that will mark his fifth consecutive bo
