Ouija 2

Too much time and effort in Cinemaland is wasted turning film into a game of winners and losers; Movie X made Y dollars so it matters more than Movie Z. But a film is way more than its box-office total. Some of the best movies released in 2016 failed to meet their financial expectations.

Weirdly enough, this week’s only new nationwide theatrical release is…Inferno. Luckily, Ouija: Origin of Evil hit theaters last week, giving thrill-seeking audiences a perfectly scary alternative to watching Tom Hanks solve some puzzles this Halloween weekend. If you’ve already seen Mike Flanagan’s surprisingly solid Ouija prequel, you may have noticed a particularly creepy easter egg lurking in the fictional family’s basement — and if you haven’t seen the film yet (or if you didn’t notice the first time around), Flanagan has confirmed a spooky connection to his previous horror hit, Oculus, which should inspire you to check out Origin of Evil this weekend.

Don’t let that headline mislead you too much. Tom Cruise is fine. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back also did fine in its opening weekend. But there’s something inherently amusing about one the most recognizable movie stars in the world playing second fiddle to Tyler Perry and his ever-popular creation, Madea. The seasonally appropriate Boo! A Madea Halloween edged out Cruise’s latest sequel at the box office this weekend, contributing to a top 10 where moderately budgeted movies reigned supreme.

2014's Ouija didn’t exactly receive glowing reviews, but that hasn’t stopped Universal from resurrecting a sequel out of it. Ouija: Origin of Evil has a completely new cast and a different story from the original, the only thing carried over from one to the other being, of course, the titular board. Today the film debuted a chilling new trailer.

Thanks to his work on the highly-effective horror flick Oculus, director Mike Flanagan immediately lined up a handful of jobs — he co-wrote last year’s teen horror movie Ouija, directed the upcoming horror film Before I Wake, and has reportedly been attached to an adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game. Up next, Flanagan will once again enter the spooky world of Ouija, as he’s signed on to write and direct the upcoming sequel.

Oculus was one of the more entertaining horror films of last year, while Ouija was kind of a puzzling box office success. Never underestimate the power of the teenage demographic, I guess. Due to its success, we’re getting the inevitable Ouija sequel, but there’s some promising news: this time around, the writers of Oculus will deliver the screenplay, ensuring that Ouija 2 will at least have a few fun tricks up its sleeve.