A new thriller has become the only 2025 release fromBlumhouseto earn a fresh Rotten Tomatoes audience score. The production company behind many celebrated horror movies, includingParanormal ActivityandGet Out, hasdeveloped a somewhat unreliable track record in recent years.The Black PhoneandM3GANwere major commercialhits for Blumhouse, receiving upcoming sequels and holding RT audience scores of 88% and 78%, respectively. However, efforts to complete or continue successful genre franchises, through the releases ofHalloween EndsandThe Exorcist: Believer, brought underwhelming responses.
Following theFive Nights at Freddy’sadaptation, which garnered an impressive 86% audience score, Blumhouse became riddled with a number of disappointing projects.Night Swim,Imaginary, andAfraidall blundered commercially, andearned Popcornmeter ratings of 53% or lower.The James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davisremake ofSpeak No Evilwas perhaps a bright spot for Blumhouse, ending the 2024 slate and holding scores of 83% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Drop Nabs A Strong Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
It Is Blumhouse’s First Fresh Popcornmeter Of 2025
Dropis the latest movie from Blumhouse, but is already proving to be among the most well-received. The thriller, directed by Christopher Landon ofHappy Death DayandFreaky, tracks Violet (played by Meghann Fahy) as anonymous and dismaying messages are sent to her phone during a date. Along with Fahy, the cast ofDropincludes Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, and Jeffery Self. Released on April 11, the film is garnering praise from critics andpresently boasts a Tomatometer score of 83%.
Drop’s Ending Explained: Who Is Manipulating Violet And Why?
Drop’s big twist changes everything about Violet’s first date with Henry, revealing the true villain at the center of the intense dinner.
Drophas also earned a fresh audience score onRotten Tomatoes, making it the first Blumhouse movie in 2025 to do so.The Popcornmeter currently stands at 80%, which is significantly higher than the 56% Leigh Whannell’sWolf Manreceivedafterpremiering in January. The only other film Blumhouse has released so far this year,The Woman in the Yard, earned just 46%.
What This Rotten Tomatoes Score Means For Drop And Blumhouse
Drop Could Turn Things Around
One ofDrop’s champions wasScreenRant’s Mae Abdulbaki. In herDropreview,Abdulbaki gave the thriller 8 out of 10 stars, saying thatthe film “perfectly balances intensity and mystery"and has strong performances from both Sklenar and Fahy. Katie Walsh ofTribune News Servicewrote “the material alone could have been basic, what Landon makes of it with such stylish and emotional execution is anything but.” Calling out Landon is a particularly notable win for Blumhouse, as the director makes frequent collaborations with the horror company.
Drophas the potential to pivot what has been a fairly unsuccessful year for horror this season. Not only has Blumhouse underperformed among critics forWoman in the YardandWolf Man, but rival company A24’s horror releases have seen a rocky start in 2025. A24 put outDeath of a UnicornandOpus, both of which bombed at the box office. After a couple of years of big horror successes at the box office, this has been a disquieting downward trend.Drop’s strong reviews could help restore Blumhouse’s critical reputation, however, and potentially reinvigorate the horror box office.
It’s A Big Win For Blumhouse
Image via Universal Pictures
After a lackluster start to 2025, the positive reception towardsDropmakes the mystery thriller a win forBlumhouseand could indicate a stronger box office performance thanWolf ManandThe Woman in the Yard, which currently stand at $34 million and $19 million, respectively. Given how many projects the studio produces — including sequels to some favorably received genre movies, notably Landon’sHappy Death Day —fresh audience scores on RT could also play a part in any success down the line on streaming, or in a potential follow-up movie.
The numbers so far are promising, asDrophas fared decently at the box office.The film opened to $7.5 million domestically, and adding international market totals, it has made $10 million at the time of writing. While this does not beat the opening ofThe Woman in the Yard,Drop’s relatively small (estimated $11 million) budget makes it likely to still be a success. The strong audience reaction could be an indicator that the film could have some continued success in theaters, which would make an even stronger case for Blumhouse’s recovery.
