Production Budget Analysis

The production budget for Fear Street: 1994 (2021) has not been publicly disclosed.

CAST: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Maya Hawke DIRECTOR: Leigh Janiak CINEMATOGRAPHY: Caleb Heymann MUSIC: Marco Beltrami, Marcus Trumpp PRODUCTION: Chernin Entertainment

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Fear Street: 1994 (2021). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: Fear Street: 1994 is part of the Fear Street Collection.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

In October 1997, Hollywood Pictures struck a deal to acquire the Fear Street series of books, which were set to be developed with Parachute Entertainment as a Scream-like feature franchise. Developments never materialized.

In October 2015, it was announced that a film based on R.L. Stine's Fear Street series was being developed by 20th Century Studios (then known as 20th Century Fox) and Chernin Entertainment. In February 2017, Kyle Killen was hired as screenwriter. In July, the project was announced as a trilogy of films, set in different time periods, with Leigh Janiak, who had previously directed the 2014 horror film Honeymoon, set to direct, as well as rewrite with her partner Phil Graziadei. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the trilogy would be shot back-to-back, with the films released one month apart. "trying to navigate their rocky relationship when they're targeted by the crazy horrors of their small town, Shadyside". In March 2019, Benjamin Flores Jr., Ashley Zukerman, Fred Hechinger, Julia Rehwald, and Jeremy Ford joined the cast. In May, Darrell Britt-Gibson was announced as a cast member. Maya Hawke, Jordana Spiro, and Jordyn DiNatale also joined the cast.

In March 2019, filming began in Atlanta and East Point, Georgia. Several vacant storefronts in the North DeKalb Mall in Georgia were renovated so that they could be used for filming. Casual Corner, Software Etc., B. Dalton Bookseller, Musicland, and Gadzooks were placed. Production also took place at Hard Labor Creek State Park in Rutledge in August 2019. Filming wrapped in September 2019.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 3 wins & 9 nominations total

CRITICAL RECEPTION

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "Fear Street Part One: 1994 kicks off the trilogy in promising fashion, honoring the source material with plenty of retro slasher appeal." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 20 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Alison Willmore, writing for Vulture, described the film as "a nasty, effective slasher", and wrote: "Where Get Out or The Babadook used horror to explore the razor-toothed hunger of white liberal (supposed) allies and the terror of feeling unable to trust your own mental state, plenty of other titles end up just pinning themselves to larger concepts in ways that range from clumsily obvious to grossly cynical. But 1994 feels untethered from these obligations." She noted some similarities to the 2014 horror film It Follows, but added: "Janiak's film is saltier, soapier, and more pragmatic—it has sequels to dole out, after all."

Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "While it probably won't have you triple checking the locks on your door, it's likely to keep you entertained enough to come back for more", and added: "Even if the conventions are familiar, the film manages to excite thanks to an impressive array of young talent, an appropriately suspenseful score and soundtrack, and a heavy dose of '90s nostalgia." She concluded: "Fear Street Part 1 is fun, and hits its marks with sufficient flair—I'm certainly motivated to see the next two installments—but sometimes the key to subversion is in the details."

A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club was more critical of the film.