EntertainmentA quiet place: Day one shatters records, mixed reviews follow

A quiet place: Day one shatters records, mixed reviews follow

The first "Ciche miejsce" hit theaters in 2018.
The first "Ciche miejsce" hit theaters in 2018.
Images source: © Press materials

11:34 AM EDT, June 28, 2024

The first, "A Quiet Place," surprised viewers—the film, made for $17 million, earned over $300 million. The story, in which no one can speak or they will die, captivated audiences worldwide. The third part is now hitting theaters. What are the critics saying?

"A Quiet Place" is directed by John Krasinski, who also stars in the film alongside his real-life wife, Emily Blunt. Who can forget the scene where Blunt gives birth in a bathtub, holding back her screams, while a bloodthirsty alien monster climbs the stairs? So much happened in that scene! The film, in which everyone must stay quiet, fascinated viewers globally, resulting in exact box office earnings of $341 million. A sequel was just a matter of time. Although it cost more, it earned less. Without John co-starring, Emily Blunt brought in $297 million from the box office for the second installment. There are major surprises surrounding the third part of the series.

"A Quiet Place: Day One" in theaters

The third part of the series hits theaters on June 28. Directed by Michael Sarnoski, Lupita Nyong'o will play the lead role this time. We will see how it all began—the initial moments of the alien invasion. As one can guess, all major catastrophes start in New York City. There, Sam (Nyong'o) will have to fight for survival.

According to "Deadline," the film is already breaking series records. The opening is expected to bring in $5 million. Although this may not seem like a large sum in Hollywood, it is the best opening result for films in the "A Quiet Place" series in recent years. The first film earned $4.3 million on its opening, and the second slightly more at $4.8 million. Will the third installment be the most profitable? Speculation suggests that "A Quiet Place: Day One" may bring in as much as $40 million during the opening weekend. This would surpass Kevin Costner's opus magnum—his "Horizon: Chapter One" is estimated to earn at most $12 million on its opening weekend. This would spell a huge financial flop.

Is it worth seeing the new "A Quiet Place"? The first reviews are in. A critic from "The Guardian" gives it 3 out of 5 stars and writes about a "suspense spectacle" with an interesting role by Lupita Nyong'o, who plays a terminal cancer patient. A reviewer from "Variety" notes that this is not a film for the faint-hearted. Although he is not one of them, and even though he cites one brutal scene, he adds: "Call me macabre, but I expected to see a lot more carnage than Sarnoski’s dismayingly sappy spinoff provides. Just about every scary shot the movie has to offer appears in the trailer," he says. He painfully states that the film is filled with nonsensical scenes—once again, we see a deserted New York, as if no one ever lived there.

Caryn James from BBC also points out a "complete lack of common sense." "Those themes and the ending are affecting, but by then the film seems to have left common sense behind along with suspense. (...) As an emotional journey Day One has its moments. For a supposedly scary movie, it's a little bit sloppy," she writes.