Maggie Gyllenhaal's 'The Bride!' earned $7.3 million domestically and $13.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend, falling short of Warner Bros' projections. The R-rated film, a feminist take on 'The Bride of Frankenstein,' faced challenges including a delayed release and audience rejection. This marks the end of the studio's streak of nine consecutive No. 1 openings.
Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, 'The Bride!' reimagines 'The Bride of Frankenstein' as a punk rock, feminist story set in the 1930s. It follows a lonely Frankenstein's monster, played by Christian Bale, who recruits a mad scientist (Annette Bening) to create a companion, portrayed by Jessie Buckley, leading to the pair becoming outlaws on the run. The film, Gyllenhaal's second directorial effort after 2021's 'The Lost Daughter,' cost Warner Bros $90 million to produce, plus $65 million in marketing, according to Variety reports.
Originally slated for October 3, 2025, near Halloween, the release was pushed to March 2026 to avoid overlap with Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein,' which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2025, streamed on Netflix in November, and received nine Oscar nominations, including best picture. Despite the delay, 'The Bride!' opened behind expectations of $16 million to $18 million domestically and $40 million globally, with Deadline estimating potential losses up to $90 million after downstream revenues.
Audience reception was poor, earning a C+ on CinemaScore exit polls and a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. PostTrak data showed a 53% male/47% female audience split, with only 43% definite recommend. Internationally, it grossed $6.3 million from 70 markets, topping out at $950,000 in the UK (No. 4). Warner Bros defended the project in a statement to press: "In an increasingly ‘risk-averse’ business like ours, we believe the business is better served with studios taking bold swings on originals like this one."
Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock noted, “Elevated horror is a tough sell to the general public. They just couldn’t find an audience. Warner Bros. spent twice as much as they should have on this.” The flop ends Warner Bros' run of No. 1 debuts, including 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Sinners,' 'Weapons,' and 'Wuthering Heights.' Production occurred in New York with tax credits, generating $60 million in wages and over 2,500 local hires, per Deadline.
