It was a rough Veteran's Day weekend for DOCTOR SLEEP, which opened below expectations and was beat by a WWII epic from Roland Emmerich, which didn't exactly impress either, even if it took the top spot. That's not a big shock, though, as Emmerich hasn't really had a major hit in a long while, but DOCTOR SLEEP was tracking to win the weekend and fizzled, taking in half of what it was expected to pull in. In fact, the expectations were so high that WB's Toby Emmerich had already struck a deal with director Mike Flanagan to pen a sequel (likely a prequel) with the working title of HALLORANN, which would seemingly be based on THE SHINING and DOCTOR SLEEP character of Dick Hallorann, as played by Scatman Crothers and Carl Lumbly, respectively.
Fans of Stephen King's books (and movies, for that matter) will remember Dick Hallorann as the man who worked at the Overlook and was able to communicate with young (and old) Danny Torrance via "The Shine" and served as a mentor to the boy (and later, the man). Hallorann certainly had a long and complex history with his powers and would seemingly have much to explore in that realm, but there's one big problem to all of this; Y'all didn't show up to see DOCTOR SLEEP!
I mean, I gave my 8/10 review and Chris Bumbray gave his 9/10 review (I'd actually raise mine to a 9 after seeing it a second time, but these numbers are arbitrary madness anyway) and I even visited the Stanley Hotel for some legit haunted experiences and STILL that didn't sway you. WB is gonna have to start paying us off with better swag. I jest, of course, but do find it disappointing that folks didn't turn out for a genuinely good movie, especially when so many are always complaining about what's playing in theaters. And now, it's highly unlikely that HALLORANN will see the light of day, despite the fact that it would likely be a cool, creepy and deeper exploration of "The Shine" which I'd personally love to see.
Ah, Hollywood. Money talks, as they say, and it looks like HALLORANN will be silenced, but ultimately I'm happy that DOCTOR SLEEP even got made and foresee many discovering it over time. It really is the perfect bookend to THE SHINING, both Stanley Kubrick's film and Stephen King's novel and I highly recommend checking it out in theaters. It's too late to save HALLORANN, but not too late for you to check out a kick ass movie in theaters.
DOCTOR SLEEP is now playing. So, y'know, go see it.
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