When A Quiet Place first reached theaters in 2018, it was unclear what to expect from The Office star John Krasinski's foray into the horror genre. But then the movie made twice its budget back in the first weekend, and the King of Horror himself, Stephen King, sung his praises about the movie ahead of its massive success, which brings us to this weekend’s sequel.
Getting good marks from Stephen King is especially an honor because the novelist does not just hand it out to anyone. King famously hates Stanley Kubrick’s take on The Shining and… hating on Stanley Kubrick is a bold take! When John Krasinski guested on CinemaBlend’s podcast ReelBlend for A Quiet Place Part II, he spoke about why King’s support for the first film was so important to him:
What I think about his writing is he is always ‘world’ first, he's always ‘characters’ first. He really puts you in that vibe. So anyway, the first movie was so overwhelming-- the response to it. But him in particular. Being from Boston, being a fan of his, he not only was incredibly kind publicly, but then we had an email exchange where he was very specific about what he loved about the movie and I was completely and totally blown away. I have not taken him up on his Red Sox tickets, but I will definitely do that someday.
John Krasinski clearly admires Stephen King’s work and was incredibly touched by the legend taking time to rave about his own movie and then exchange some emails between each other. Both Krasinski and King share a love for Boston and its baseball team, the Red Sox, so that added a little something to their bond. King even invited him to use his tickets – he hasn’t yet cashed in, but is thinking about it.
On the day of the release for A Quiet Place, Stephen King tweeted out what he thought about the movie, especially citing John Krasinski’s work as a director as a highlight of the film. Check it out:
Three years later, A Quiet Place Part II is out in the world and looking to make a huge bang at the box office following a year delay due to the global pandemic. John Krasinski has been using the film's release as an opportunity to support theaters, even traveling across the country to surprise movie fans at screenings to thank them.
The movie kicked off an impressive weekend with nearly $5 million on its opening night with projections for the release in the neighborhood of $50 million in its first weekend during the Memorial holiday. This is boasted by generally great reviews from critics and audiences alike. You can check out ReelBlend’s full conversation with John Krasinski here:
ReelBlend also spoke with the director about doing that very real bus stunt with his actual wife Emily Blunt on the line along with why he didn’t initially want to make a sequel to the 2018 hit. A Quiet Place Part II is currently playing in theaters.
