A new, surprisingly plush terror, Buddy, wearing a coat of blinding orange fur, is dominating the box office. But that’s not all; it is causing real-world chaos.
Footage has just surfaced of the film’s titular mascot being dramatically escorted out of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. It seems he was kicked out for wearing a costume inside the park, but I call “no fair”; after all, they did let Jason Voorhees stay. And he’s not half as cute as the psychotic Unicorn.
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Shattering Records and Expanding Nationwide
Released jointly by Roadside Attractions and Saban Films, the feature grossed over $5.5 million across just 1,258 screens. Doubling initial industry projections, it has secured the highest opening weekend of the year.
BUDDY is not just turning heads. It is smashing distributor records across the board. The performance represents Roadside Attractions’ highest opening weekend since before the pandemic and the second-largest in the company’s 23-year history. It simultaneously marks Saban Films’ biggest theatrical launch in its 12-year run. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with recent breakout indie genre hits like Terrifier and Clown in a Cornfield, the movie is capitalizing on its runaway momentum. It is now expanding to over 1,800 theaters for Labor Day weekend.
Gen Z Fuel, Critical Acclaim, and Star-Studded Chaos
Driven by a viral marketing campaign that generated over 150 million trailer views and accumulated 450,000 social media followers, younger audiences turned out in droves for a theatrical scream.
Directed by Casper Kelly, the film boasts an 88 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes—all thanks to its preference for wildly creative practical effects over digital polish.
Starring Cristin Milioti, Patton Oswalt, and Michael Shannon, BUDDY takes the wholesome, sing-along world of vintage children’s television, introduces a stubborn child who refuses to play along, and lets its orange beast unleash absolute hell.
Watch Buddy now in a theater near you!
