The Quorum

New to The Quorum: SALEM’S LOT, MR. MALCOLM’S LIST

Last week, two films based on books were added to The Quorum. Here’s a closer look at each. 

MR. MALCOLM’S LIST (Bleecker Street, July 1st) – Back in 2019, director Emma Holly Jones made a short film based on Suzanne Allain’s 2009 novel of the same name. That short starred Gemma Chan, Freida Pinto, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen went so well that the team decided to expand it to a feature. The original cast has returned, except for Constance Wu, who takes over for Gemma Chan. This period drama will be going up against SHOTGUN WEDDING and MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU on July 1st. 

SALEM’S LOT (Warner Bros., September 9th) – In 2017, Warner Bros. brought Stephen King’s IT back to the big screen with incredible results. IT still stands as the highest-grossing horror film to date, followed by 2019’s IT: CHAPTER 2 in the runner-up spot. Combined, these two films made over half a billion dollars domestically. Both were given early September release dates. 

Therefore, it’s not surprising that Warner’s went back to the King library for SALEM’S LOT and gave it a similar September date. Can lightning strike three times? Perhaps. Initially published in 1975, SALEM’S LOT was given the mini-series treatment in the ’70s and ’80s but there hasn’t been a major studio film version of the book. Fans of the book have been waiting a long time to see it on the big screen. Pent-up demand is usually a good thing.

Given that SALEM’S LOT comes from arguably the greatest horror author of all time, perhaps it’s not surprising that awareness for the film is nearly three times higher than MR. MALCOLM’S LIST. As always, though, there’s plenty of time for these numbers to go up. 

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