Controversial New Horror Movie Ice Cream Man's Box Office Debut Hits Record Low

Published Aug 8, 2026, 1:09 PM EDT Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head. Ice Cream Man is freezing up at the box office. The new Eli Roth horror movie follows chaos descending on the town of Bayleen Bay when a mysterious ice cream man (Ari Millen) arrives in town, giving out treats that turn children into bloodthirsty monsters. In addition to it earning a dismal 28% score on Rotten Tomatoes, there has been a great deal of controversy around Ice Cream Man due to the use of generative AI in the creation of the film's animated sequences, as well as reports of Roth's past behavior, which includes allegedly making violent jokes about climate activist Greta Thunberg on his Instagram stories. Per Variety, as of Saturday morning, Ice Cream Man is projected to end its opening weekend with a 3-day gross of $2.1 million from 1,090 domestic theaters. If these numbers hold, that comes out to a per-screen average of $1,927, which is the lowest debut per-screen average for any Eli Roth directorial feature that debuted in wide release. The filmmaker's previous low was the debut per-screen average of 2015's The Green Inferno, which was $2,286. If Ice Cream Man were to best that number, it would need to make roughly $400,000 more than its current projections, which would be about 20% higher than expected. The only Eli Roth movie to have a limited debut, 2015's Knock Knock, is also the only movie from the filmmaker to have a lower per-screen average than Ice Cream Man during its debut. That movie opened in 22 theaters and had an average of just $846. Below, see a breakdown of the box office performance of every one of the filmmaker's previous wide releases, ranked from highest to lowest debut per-screen average: Title Debut PSA Worldwide Total Hostel (2006) $8,909 $82 million The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) $7,407 $131.4 million Death Wish (2018) $4,569 $49.6 million Cabin Fever (2003) $4,024 $30.5 million Hostel: Part II (2007) $3,490 $35.7 million Thanksgiving (2023) $3,216 $46.5 million Borderlands (2024) $2,752 $33 million The Green Inferno (2015) $2,286 $12.7 million If Ice Cream Man maintains its current projections and has a similar trajectory to Eli Roth's previous lowest wide release debut, it may potentially only be able to earn $10.7 million worldwide by the end of its run. This would see it having a lower gross than several disappointing 2026 horror movies, including 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple ($58.5 million), The Bride! ($23.9 million), They Will Kill You ($19.4 million), and The Strangers: Chapter 3 ($11 million). However, it will still very likely turn a profit if it makes more than $10 million. Variety reports that 2026's Ice Cream Man only cost $5.5 million to make, and that that budget was mostly covered by international pre-sales and tax credits. While its exact break-even point is unknown, even if there were no pre-sales, it would likely have only needed to make $14 million worldwide in order to end up in the black. Therefore, its actual break-even point is probably considerably lower than that. The Ultimate · Horror Quote Challenge Name That Horror Movie “They’re coming to get you, Barbara.” ☠1960s 🔪1970s 👻1980s 💀1990s 🎭2000s ENTER IF YOU DARE → 01 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“I am your number one fan.” ASingle White Female (1992) BCape Fear (1991) CMisery (1990) DFatal Attraction (1987) ✓ Correct! Annie Wilkes’s obsessive declaration to author Paul Sheldon in Misery — Kathy Bates won the Oscar for this role. ✗ Not quite — it’s Misery (1990). Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes delivers this line before things get very, very painful for her favorite author. NEXT → 02 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“We all go a little mad sometimes.” APeeping Tom (1960) BThe Birds (1963) CWhatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) DPsycho (1960) ✓ Correct! Norman Bates’s unsettling confession in Hitchcock’s Psycho — the film that invented the slasher. ✗ Not quite — it’s Psycho (1960). Norman Bates delivers this chilling line to Marion Crane before the shower scene changes cinema forever. NEXT → 03 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“Here’s Johnny!” AThe Amityville Horror (1979) BPoltergeist (1982) CThe Changeling (1980) DThe Shining (1980) ✓ Correct! Jack Nicholson’s terrifying ad-lib as he axes through the bathroom door in The Shining. ✗ Not quite — it’s The Shining (1980). Nicholson improvised this line while hacking through the door — Kubrick kept the cameras rolling. NEXT → 04 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“They’re all gonna laugh at you!” ACarrie (1976) BThe Exorcist (1973) CThe Omen (1976) DSuspiria (1977) ✓ Correct! Margaret White’s cruel warning to her daughter before prom night turns deadly in Carrie. ✗ Not quite — it’s Carrie (1976). Piper Laurie as Margaret White torments her telekinetic daughter with this prophetic warning. NEXT → 05 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.” AFriday the 13th (1980) BChild’s Play (1988) CHellraiser (1987) DA Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) ✓ Correct! The eerie children’s jump-rope rhyme that haunts the dreams of Elm Street. ✗ Not quite — it’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). The nursery rhyme warning of Freddy Krueger’s arrival. All five are iconic slashers, but only one invades your dreams. NEXT → 06 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“I want to play a game.” AHostel (2005) BSaw (2004) CThe Collector (2009) DCube (1997) ✓ Correct! Jigsaw’s signature greeting, delivered through his puppet Billy in Saw. ✗ Not quite — it’s Saw (2004). The Jigsaw Killer’s chilling invitation before his victims face impossible choices. NEXT → 07 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“It was the boogeyman.” ABlack Christmas (1974) BThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) CHalloween (1978) DWhen a Stranger Calls (1979) ✓ Correct! Laurie Strode’s terrified whisper to Dr. Loomis after surviving Michael Myers in Halloween. ✗ Not quite — it’s Halloween (1978). Laurie Strode whispers this to Dr. Loomis, who replies: “As a matter of fact, it was.” NEXT → 08 Which horror movie features this iconic line?“It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.” ASe7en (1995) BAmerican Psycho (2000) CRed Dragon (2002) DThe Silence of the Lambs (1991) ✓ Correct! Buffalo Bill’s skin-crawling command to his captive in The Silence of the Lambs. ✗ Not quite — it’s The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Buffalo Bill delivers this disturbing line from his basement. All five films feature serial killers, but only one has this scene. REVEAL MY SCORE → The Body Count Your Survival Score 💀 / 8 Did you survive the horror quiz? ↻ SURVIVE AGAIN As it stands, Ice Cream Man is expected to debut outside the domestic Top 5 entirely, failing to compete against its fellow new releases One Night Only and Super Troopers 3, which are expected to debut at No. 3 and No. 5 respectively thanks to the holdover hits Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey maintaining last weekend's positions at No. 1 and No. 2. Enjoy ScreenRant's box office coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly box office newsletter (make sure to check "Box Office" in your preferences) and get exclusive analysis, predictions, and more: Sign Up Release Date August 7, 2026 Runtime 86 Minutes Director Eli Roth Writers Eli Roth, Noah Belson Producers Kate Harrison Karman, Eli Roth Cast Benjamin Byron Davis The Priest