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‘Longlegs’ Stuns the Box Office: This Summer’s Unexpected Horror Sensation

‘Longlegs’ has made a strong debut, earning $22.6 million at the box office.

This indie horror film features Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, Blair Underwood, Alicia Witt, Michelle Choi-Lee, and Dakota Daulby. Produced for under $10 million, the film had a similar budget for marketing and distribution. ‘Longlegs’ is Neon’s most successful debut to date, surpassing Columbia Pictures’ ‘Fly Me to the Moon.’ Its marketing campaign, inspired by the cult classic ‘The Blair Witch Project’, included an old-school website detailing the crimes of the film’s serial killer and a real phone number that played a message from Cage’s evil character.

The plot centers on an FBI agent who is on the hunt for a serial killer with occult ties, only to uncover a personal link to the murderer. The cast features Blair Underwood as Agent Carter, the agent’s superior; Alicia Witt as Ruth Harker, the agent’s devout mother; Michelle Choi-Lee as Agent Browning; Dakota Daulby as Agent Horatio Fisk; Kiernan Shipka as Carrie Anne Camera, the sole survivor of the killer; Maila Hosie as a young Carrie Anne; Jason Day as Father Camera; and Lisa Chandler as Mother Camera.

The Genius ‘Longlegs’ Marketing Campaign 

‘Longlegs’ surprised with a $22.6 million debut at the box office.

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Here’s how Neon achieved it:

The marketing campaign kicked off in January with cryptic teasers that kept the plot and Nicolas Cage’s serial killer character a mystery. Billboards displayed a phone number for a voicemail from Cage in character, and a 90s-style website detailed Longlegs’ crimes.

A final teaser featured actress Maika Monroe, as FBI Agent Lee Harker, seeing Cage’s character, causing her heart rate to spike from 76 to 170 bpm.

With a $10 million budget and a matching marketing spend, ‘Longlegs’ became the year’s biggest original horror film debut and the best indie horror opening in a decade. Only 15 indie releases across all genres have surpassed $20 million in that period.

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