The future might not look bright for the characters of the Final Destination franchise but it certainly does for the future of the horror films overall.
Not only is Final Destination Bloodlines a critically acclaimed film with a 93% approval rate and a Certified Fresh seal of approval on Rotten Tomatoes, but the film also broke box office records for the franchise, grossing $51 million during its opening weekend in the US, and $102 million globally (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The sixth film in the Final Destination series had a higher opening weekend than any previous Final Destination and its opening weekend sales outperformed expectations. For comparison, the 2011 film Final Destination 5 only opened to $18 million.
With the success of this film, Warner Bros. has achieved yet another horror win alongside the ongoing success of Sinners, the original vampire horror movie from director and writer Ryan Coogler. And that's in addition to Companion, which, while not a huge box office success, still did well critically. The company isn't done yet, either, as this summer will see the release of Zach Cregger's highly anticipated Barbarian follow-up, Weapons.
The latest Final Destination film is both a prequel and a sequel in many ways, as the movie goes back in time to the late 1960s when Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) had a premonition of disaster striking a high-rise restaurant called the Skyview.
In a series first, Iris manages to save everyone at the restaurant from dying, and thus starts off the long saga of Death reclaiming its victims. Because of Iris's actions, Death sets out to claim every person who should have died that night, along with their families (since those family members should never have existed).
The present-day story follows Iris's granddaughter, college student Stefani Reyes. Suffering from nightmares of the Skyview incident, Stefani hunts down her estranged grandmother and learns the truth: that she and her entire family are in grave danger.
Considering how well Final Destination Bloodlines is performing at the box office and with fans and critics alike, it seems like a seventh Final Destination is all but assured. It's a good thing Warner Bros. shifted strategies for this movie, as they originally intended to release a previous version of the film on Max where it likely wouldn't have become nearly as popular.
I won't spoil what happens in Final Destination Bloodlines, but the movie more or less wraps up the story of the series. However, there are hints as to the direction it could head in the future. The Final Destination 2 character Kimberly Corman is referenced in the movie, suggesting a set-up for her to return in the future. Kimberly is the only visionary (the characters who have premonitions) to survive Death by temporarily dying and coming back to life.
Final Destination Bloodlines is now playing in theaters.