Part 1: Movie Overview
"End of Days"
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/n82BDb0.png)
Directed By: James Wan
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Budget: $15million.
Running Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
Cast:
Ashley Benson as Karen O'Connor
Emma Roberts as Lexie Grace
Kj Apa as Jake Atlas
Mark O'Brien as Louis Eipstein
Shay Mitchel. as Mýstique Summers
Wes Bentley as Matt McMahon
Cameo: Neve Campbell as the Director of NYU
Original Score:
John Carpenter
Cody Carpenter
Daniel Davies
Part 2: Plot Summary
The serial killer, wearing a Lucha Libre mask and a knife, appears to the director of the NYU (Neve Campbell in a cameo). She is then haunted down the corridors of the campus before finally meeting her demise on the entrance of the campus. The next morning her faceless body is found hanging from the main entrance with the words "CANCEL END OF DAYS".
In NYU, a theater class is producing their Horror Tribute "End of Days" paying homage to the slasher movies of the past, the whole production directed by Matt McMahon (Wes Bentley) is cast with Karen O'Connor (Ashley Benson) as the lead actress and Jake Atlas (KJ Apa) as the mysterious killer. Lexie Grace (Emma Roberts) is cast as the main girl's best friend, Mýstique Summers (Shay Mitchell) as the roommate, and Louis Eipstein (Mark O'Brien) is cast as the boyfriend of Karen O'Connor. All of them are real life best friends, Louis and Karen are real life couple so they are happy they get to share this play together.
The next morning each and everyone of them receives a text message telling them to quit or they will die, one by one.
Just as they are setting rehearsals the first day, Matt orders them to go to their houses. He sends them home and is left alone shutting the theater down. He starts hearing noises backstage and says "hell no" and starts running out of the theater, only to find the Masked Luchador staring right at him by the exit. He tries to run but the Masked Luchador throws the knife at him, hitting him in the back. The Masked Luchador then slowly walks up to Matt and proceeds to stab him 3 times, making sure to also take his face. Next, the Luchador Killer appears and hunts down Karen O'Connor. She barely makes it up alive but he ends up killing one of the Kapa Kappa girls by stabbing her in the chest and then procceding to take her face, just like he did to the director. After that, in one of the best scenes from the movie, a one shot scene that lasts 17 minutes, we see The Luchador Killer stalk Jake and Karen all the way from the theater to the campus halls to their dorms. Where they start discussing how no one is a virgin, meaning they broke the "final girl" rule that's common for horror movies. They also discuss the stupid choices they could make if they were in one horror movie. They end up staying together but at the end Jake trips and is finally stabbed by the Masked Luchador, ONCE again taking his pretty face, ending the 17 minute one shot scene.
The haunt keeps on going, as the Masked Luchador reaches the Kappa Kappa House where he finds Mystique, who uses her training in judo to put a fight against him. She nearly reels the killer, but at the same time Lexie shows up distracting Mystique, and the Masked Luchador disappears. Later that night, the remaining survivors get together at the Kappa Kappa house when they receive a text saying the killer is one of them - who could it be? They have a fallout and decide to part ways, but not before Lexie makes fun of the "let's break up trope in horror movies". The Masked Luchador shows up at Lexie's room, and after putting off a fight with the Luchador, she is pushed off a balcony after being stabbed and falling into a car, where she ends up nearly dying and taken to the Hospital.
Mystique, who is in shock after watching that scene, is convinced Louis is the Killer as she could smell his perfume on the Masked Luchador. She goes to Karen to tell her that and Karen doesn't believe this and blows her off. As soon as she turns around, the Masked Luchador takes Mystique and drags her to the kitchen where she is brutally stabbed 17 times and the killer takes her face.
Louis Eipstein then finds Karen right at the main door and she starts crying, saying that "yeah, End of Days has to be cancelled". But then, just as she hugs him, she realizes his shirt is all bloodied up. So she figures it out, the twist being Louis Eipstein is the Masked Luchador killer, she then tries to run but she's caught by Louis and the two of them fight all over the house. Louis tells her he never loved her and she was just a pretty girl to hook up with but makes the usual mistake of talking too much and Karen uses the distraction to stab Louis right in the heart.
But then the main twist happens, Lexie Grace comes back and hugs Karen only to slice her neck in half and she just sits there, watching her bleed out. Then she starts pouring Karen's blood all over her face and body. As she is ready to come out of the house, she then reveals to a dying Karen her whole master plan of how she was always in her shadow and what broke her was not getting the lead in "End of Days". She seduced Louis to help her do it and how collecting their faces was her way to make sure she was the prettiest final girl ever, she also reveals she killed Matt and The director of NYU and Louis killed Mystique and Jake.
The movie ends with Lexie getting out of the house covered in blood and faking being the "final girl" as she calls it. Leaving the door open for a sequel.
Part 3: Release Plan
World Premiere: Los Angeles October 26, 2020
Release Date: October 28 (5 day OW)
"End of Days" Timeline:
June 1st, 2020: With tons of shuffling release dates, Paramount announces James Wan's latest film will be coming out on October 28th. The title is not revealed, but Jordan Peele is confirmed as an executive producer.
July 17, 2020: Trailer #1 (or the "Neve Campbell Trailer") is released. Many are intrigued, and the trailer garners millions of views in its first 24 hours. It gets a special deal to show before "Tenet", the first blockbuster released in months, in order to get maximum exposure.
Aug 21, 2020: "Trailer #2" is released. It doesn't do quite as well as the first trailer, though many appreciate that it shows more of the plot. It is set to show before three upcoming horror flicks: "Antebellum" (8/21), "The New Mutants" (8/28), and "A Quiet Place Part II" (9/4).
Sept 21, 2020: Ashley Benson appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote the movie.
Sept 30, 2020: Emma Roberts appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote the movie.
Oct 1, 2020: The official website for the film is updated to be a copy of the NYU website, but when anything is clicked on the message "CANCEL END OF DAYS" smashes on to the screen, and people are taken to the full site.
Oct 2, 2020: Soundtrack Single "Stab" by Doja Cat & Nicki Minaj is released digitally and to streaming, with a music video released on the same day featuring scenes of the film.
Oct 5, 2020: Radio adds date for "Stab", the song is pushed to CHR/Pop and Rhythmic.
Oct 6, 2020: KJ Apa appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the movie.
Oct 9, 2020: Promo soundtrack single released, "Mask" by Dua Lipa, is released digitally and to streaming.
Oct 13, 2020: Ashley Benson appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the movie.
Oct 16, 2020: The Soundtrack album is released, featuring "Stab", "Mask", and others.
Oct 24, 2020: Neve Campbell makes a cameo on Saturday Night Live in a sketch that parodies the movie.
Oct 27, 2020: The soundtrack album debuts at #23 on the Billboard 200.
Oct 28, 2020: The film is released for a five day opening weekend in order to capitalize on Halloween as much as possible. It launches in 1,790 theaters. It debuts with a 64% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critic consensus stating "Fans expecting a Neve Campbell lead spiritual successor to Scream may end up disappointed, but the film still serves as an entertaining enough horror flick, perfect for the Halloween season". The audience receives it more warmly, with a 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a B+ CinemaScore.
Oct 29, 2020: The opening night numbers for "End of Days" are released. It debuts with a solid $9 million, slightly ahead of expectations.
Oct 30, 2020: Second night box office numbers are revealed. The film slips slightly to $7 million, but people expect it do very well with the upcoming holiday weekend. The film still manages to debut at #5 for the week based on only two days of release. A very aggressive marketing campaign is put in place for the whole weekend, with trailers/ads plastered all over the internet. The film also nearly doubles the amount of theaters it is showing in, expanding to 2,952.
Oct 31, 2020: Friday night box office numbers are revealed! With little competition outside of Halloween Kills, which had already been in release for two weeks, the film does huge numbers and earns a $19 million Friday night.
Nov 1, 2020: Halloween night itself further helps End of Days make more money, scoring a strong $17 million Saturday night.
Nov 2, 2020: The box office numbers from Sunday are revealed, and the film took a bit of a harsh dip down to $7 million. While the studio worries the movie may not have great legs, it's already in the green so there is no huge worry. The film still takes #1 for the weekend.
Nov 6, 2020: The full first week numbers for End of Days are revealed. It scored a $56 million debut for 10/30-11/5, way ahead of studio expectations. It still takes #1 for the week. Worldwide, it garnered a $21 million opening week led by debuts in the UK ($3.2 million), China ($2.9 million), and Australia ($2.7 million).
Nov 20, 2020: Paramount announces it will not be pushing End of Days in any awards shows, but James Wan fans are not pleased and #JusticeForJamesWan and #JusticeForEndofDays begin trending on Twitter.
Nov 23, 2020: Paramount responds to fan outcry by reluctantly saying they will do a small campaign for best picture, and Wan for best director. GoldDerby gives both 100/1 odds of being nominated.
Jan 13, 2020: Oscar nominations are revealed, and to the surprise of few End of Days is snubbed.
*note: all box office number refer to the domestic box office unless otherwise specified
Box Office Summary:
3-Day Opening Weekend: $43 Million
5-Day Opening Weekend: $59 Million
Opening Week (10/30-11/5): $56 Million
International Opening Week (10/30-11/5): $21 Million
Final Domestic Gross: $132 Million
Final International Gross: $34 Million
Final Worldwide Gross: $166 Million
Trailers:
Trailer #1 (A.K.A. the "Neve Campbell Trailer"):
Fake scenes with Neve Campbell, as she wasn't killed in the first 10 minutes of the movie, to pay homage to the original Scream campaign.
Release Date: July 17, 2020
Runtime: 1:20 mins
Trailer #2: "End of Days"
Karen and her boyfriend are picking a Horror movie DVD to watch. Multiple classic flicks are shown among the stacks including "Scream", "Halloween", "Jaws", and "Psycho". In the end, they picked an unnamed DVD and as they put it in the DVD player, the movie title appeared on the screen: End Of Days.
Next frame is the group meeting together for a briefing. The director gives everyone their scripts. Lexie and Mystiqué chuckle while Karen looks uneasy.
Then, the words CANCEL END OF DAYS written in blood is shown. (Revealed in the film to be the murder scene of the first victim)
A man in a Lucha Libre costume appears in frame. And a scene featuring every member of the cast in a room together while they hear someone screaming.
Then, multiple frames of Karen going through her script maniacally, clashing with frames of more victims killed. (Mostly just blood splattering on objects with sounds of their screams)
The trailer ends with Karen, eyes wide, sweat running down her face, reading one of the lines on her script in whispers. "You won't believe what you'll see when the end of your days come." Then the movie title appears one more time with release date.
"Audio" by LSD is played in the background of this trailer.
Release Date: Aug 21, 2020
Run time: 2:28 mins
End of Days - Soundtrack tracklist
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/jQI6NX7.png)