After just over a week in theaters, Robert Eggers‘ “Nosferatu” has broke even at the box office, currently sitting at $51.2 million off a $50 budget. And it needs just under $20 million to surpass 2022’s “The Northman” as the director’s highest-grossing film. Do those numbers qualify the film as a success? Totally, but much like its title character, it’s the afterlife of “Nosferatu” that’s most compelling.
READ MORE: ‘Nosferatu’ Review: Robert Eggers’ Spellbinding Gothic Horror Is Hauntingly Beautiful
How so? Well, in a new interview with Esquire about the film, Eggers confirmed that an extended cut of “Nosferatu” will be part of its Blu-Ray release. Eggers mentioned the new version of his film while talking about cutting a shot he loved of Bill Skårsgard‘s Count Orlok. “We really liked the shot, but where it was intended was actually ruining some tension, to know that [Orlok] was around, and that we needed to keep him more mysterious,” said the director. “But if you would wish to purchase the Blu-Ray, it is in the extended version of the film.”
Test screenings of “Nosferatu” earlier this year allegedly had a runtime of about three hours, so it’s clear that Eggers edited out a lot of footage before his 132-minute final cut. But will all of it make it onto the Blu-Ray? Eggers didn’t confirm that to Esquire, but it’s a safe bet a hefty chunk of that cut footage will make it on the 4k release. Stay tuned for an official release date for the Blu-Ray soon.
Starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Skårsgard, “Nosferatu” is a passion project for Eggers, a remake of F.W. Murnau‘s loose unofficial 1922 adaptation of Bram Stoker‘s “Dracula.” Depp stars as Ellen Hutter, a young bride who becomes the object of obsession for the undead Count Orlok. The film also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, and Emma Corrin.
With “Nosferatu” garnering high marks from critics and audiences, Eggers will undoubtedly be able to make whatever he wants next. But what will it be? There are rumors of him remaking Jim Henson‘s ’80s fantasy classic “Labyrinth,” but let’s hope Eggers expands his ongoing cinematic project in a different direction.
