TRAP (2024): M. Night Shyamalan’s Serial Killer Thriller Moves Up its Release Date by a Week

Trap Moves Up its Release Date

Warner Bros‘s potential box-office hit, a thriller titled Trap, has shifted its release date up a week from August 9th to August 2nd.

August has been kind to director M. Night Shyamalan. Back in 1999, the director’s first big release, The Sixth Sense, ended up being Shyamalan’s ticket to the 2000 Oscar ceremony where he appeared as a nominee. That film was released theatrically in early August, 1999. Now, the filmmaker’s new film, Trap, is getting attention from movie-goers thanks to some very suspenseful trailers. Though originally slated for an August 9th release, Trap, has now moved to August 2nd which will give the movie more time to profit at the box-office thanks to its prime-time summer movie season positioning.

Trap is set in a big stadium where a concert is being performed. A father (Josh Hartnett) is attending the event with his young daughter. When police appear to be guarding the place at every corner, Hartnett wonders what, exactly, is going on. He is informed by a worker at the stadium that there is a manhunt for a serial killer going down right there at the stadium. While Hartnett’s character’s daughter is expecting to have the time of her life watching the musical concert happening that night, Hartnett’s character just happens to be a tad nervous about what’s going on.

Though M. Night Shyamalan is known for his major plot twists, the trailer seems to reveal a big surprise which is that Hartnett is, indeed, the serial killer at large. Meanwhile, it appears he is afraid the authorities will close in on him. There is also a small monitor that Hartnett’s apparent serial killer is watching which showcases live footage of his latest victim. Remember, the trailer could have been a tease and what’s going on in the trailer isn’t necessarily what’s really happening in the film. Or is it?

Shyamalan films like Signs released in theaters around the same time period during the summer. In fact, Signs released on the same exact date of August 2nd in 2002. The director’s moderate hits, Old and The Village released in late July but played well into August given their surprise endings. While Shyamalan may be hoping for The Sixth Sense or Signs-type returns on Trap to help rejuvenate his career, most insiders predict an opening weekend of about $15-20 million at best for Trap. It all depends on how twisty the film is and how well word of mouth spreads on the film’s opening weekend.

Trap could suffer from a mediocre CinemaScore grade too. Twisty thrillers like this one are often judged by audiences based on their final reveals and all bets are on to see if Trap‘s final moments will be as compelling as previous Shyamalan films. Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana, recently directed The Watchers which fizzled out at the box-office but Trap seems poised to do much better financially. Well, it should certainly play decently– at least for its first two weekends as viewers line up to see whether or not Hartnett can play a serial killer successfully. Or if Hartnett is, indeed, playing a serial killer at all!

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