Tarot turns a modest $8 million budget into a stunning $20 million global box office haul in just ten days.

Tarot has emerged as an unexpected box office success, despite a wave of critical disapproval. The new horror film has nearly tripled its production budget in a mere ten days.

With a modest budget of $8 million, Tarot has stunned industry observers by pulling in a whopping $20 million globally, as reported by Variety. This includes a projected $3.4 million from the domestic market by the end of its second weekend, combined with substantial international earnings. The movie’s financial performance is notably strong, considering its critically lukewarm reception, which has culminated in a measly 21% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on critic reviews.

Tarot Offers a Mix of Humor and Horror with Standout Performance by Jacob Batalon

Tarot, directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, struggles to play a winning hand despite its appealing premise. The movie features a group of college friends who inadvertently unleash a demonic force after toying with a cursed tarot deck in a remote mansion. MovieWeb’s Greg Archer said in his Tarot review:

“The filmmakers keep things very lean here — from cast to settings to lighting. In fact, this film is so dimly lit, you’d be forgiven if you drifted off. The plot itself never truly drags, however. At 92 minutes, we get in and out of the surreal ride in no time.”

The film’s jump scares are a hit-or-miss affair, though they manage to deliver some genuine thrills amidst a series of predictable horror setups. Despite its PG-13 rating, which limits the gore, the movie attempts to compensate with psychological terror and atmospheric tension.

The filmmakers keep the action moving thanks to sharp and effective editing. The jump scares work — 60/40. Most of them do the trick.

“Paxton is sort of the funny best friend to our friend Ruth. He starts out in the movie as very bullish on things like terror, which makes jokes of it, but as the horrors continue to happen, he realizes that it’s definitely happening, and he becomes a full-on freak with it , and hopefully, he doesn’t die.”

Batalon talked about the film’s unique approach to the horror genre, noting its focus on tarot, which he believes has not been extensively explored in horror films before.

“ I thought it was really fun and a really different take on the horror genre . We’ve never really seen something based on tarot before. I feel like a lot of young people today are into star signs and whatnot. It’s very relatable in that sense. And having a bunch of college friends and making jokes about it is going to be great.”

Tarot is currently showing in theaters.