Leigh Whannell may not be a name everyone knows, but if you're a horror fan, he's undoubtedly touched your life in some way over the past 20 years. As the co-creator of the two long-running hit "Saw" franchises like "Insidious," it certainly made its mark. That's to say nothing of his work as a director, which includes "Upgrade" and "The Invisible Man." In other words, Whannell's work is worth paying attention to. For example, his new Wolf Man picture is drawing more than a few eyes and figures to be a big hit for Blumhouse and Universal when it hits theaters next weekend.

"Wolfman" is currently eyeing an opening weekend in the $20 million to $30 million range Treasury Theory. That would be a solid start, especially for a movie made on a $7 million production budget. Granted, it doesn't involve marketing, but even so, this is shaping up to be a significant early success. It also doesn't hurt that the last major horror film to hit theaters was "Nosferatu" on Christmas, which has killed it up to this point. By next week, however, audiences will be in for something different.

One thing that definitely seems to be on Whannell's side here is critical acclaim. While full reviews for the film haven't dropped as of this writing, Early reactions on social media to The Wolf Man have been mostly very positive despite an early marketing blurb that offered a rather unflattering look at the film's titular creature design. Fortunately, based on early word, it does tragically bad Wolf Man from last year's Halloween Horror Nights not fully representative of the actual film.

The only downside, really, is that The Wolfman will have competition coming down the pipeline. On January 24, Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed supernatural horror film The Presence opens in theaters. After that, Warner Bros.' The sci-fi horror film Companion will arrive to close out the month. The latter film also has a lot going for it, as it comes from producer Zach Kreger of "Barbarian" fame. However, these films all play in different sub-genres, so there can/should be room for everyone.

The Wolfman centers on Blake (Christopher Abbott), a man who inherits his remote childhood home in Oregon after his father mysteriously disappears. Although his marriage to his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) is on the rocks, Blake convinces her to take a break from the city and visit the house with their young daughter Ginger (Mathlida Firth). However, upon arriving at the house, they are attacked by an unseen animal and must barricade themselves inside the building as the creature lurks. Then, as the night progresses, Blake begins to act strangely. Horror follows.

Whannell comes from the 2020s "The Invisible Man," which was a smash hit that landed him a deal with Blumhouse at first sight. It was also a big winner both critically and commercially, which is part of what led to the director putting his stamp on the werewolf mythos.

If word of mouth isn't disastrous from moviegoers, with an opening of this size, especially when you factor in overseas earnings, Wolf Man could easily become a $100 million global grosser. It's next to open in the same space as "Longlegs" ($22.4m opening / $126.9m worldwide) and "Smile 2" ($23m opening / $138m worldwide). It's good company to be in.

Assuming all goes well, Blumhouse is positioned to start 2025 on a much stronger note than it did in 2024. This time last year, if you recall, the studio released Night Swimming, a horror film that grossed just over $54 million worldwide. It was still a small financial success, but not to the level that the studio often allows. it wasn't until Speak No Evil came out last September that Blumhouse also finally turned things around. So 2025 is already shaping up to be a much better time for Blumhouse, horror and the box office in general.

The Wolfman hits theaters on January 17, 2025.