Disney+ Murder Mystery Thriller Makes You See Ghosts
Streaming giant Disney+ recently added one of last year’s spookiest films to its on-demand library, thrilling fans of the genre. A Haunting in Venice enjoyed a solid theatrical run last fall and is now available to enjoy in the comfort of home for subscribers. The film proved to be a smash hit at the box office, though released at a time when blockbusters Oppenheimer and Barbie overshadowed it.
A Haunting In Venice
A Haunting in Venice, loosely based on the Agatha Christie novel Hallowe’en, follows Christie’s iconic French detective Hercule Poirot to the city of Venice where he attends a seance with mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver.
The seance occurs at the mansion of a famed opera singer, the beautiful Rowena Drake. Oliver is hoping to expose the medium, Joyce Reynolds, of being a fraud.
A Murder In A Mansion
Drake’s mansion is the previous site of an orphanage and is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of the many children who had died there during a famine.
If that isn’t enough of a setup for terror, the plot of A Haunting in Venice begins to thicken when it’s revealed that Drake has hired Reynolds to communicate with her deceased daughter, who had recently committed suicide after a broken engagement.
After Poirot is nearly drowned by a masked assailant while apple-bobbing, Joyce mysteriously plummets to her demise from an upper-story window.
Poirot In On The Case
Poirot, with the help of Oliver, is on the case. The unlikely duo piece together clues that eventually lead to Poirot’s attacker, as well as the culprit behind several other murders that occur over the course of the film.
A Haunting in Venice uses eerie sets, a masterful score, and a veteran cast to weave together a cinematic entry that is one for the ages.
A Haunting In Venice Cast
A Haunting in Venice stars Kenneth Branagh as Poirot, Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey as Oliver, and Michelle Yeoh as Joyce Reynolds. Branagh also put his skills behind the scenes to work as director. The film’s stars drew a lot of attention to its release, helping it to capture an unexpected amount of success at the box office.
A Haunting In Venice Box Office
Working against a modest budget of $60 million, A Haunting in Venice raked in a little over $14 million during its opening weekend. The United States ticket sales eventually topped an additional $28 million, putting the domestic gross at $42 million. But the international audiences really drove the success of this suspense film, accounting for $80 million in gross receipts.
Adapting Agatha Christie
A Haunting in Venice isn’t the only time an Agatha Christie novel has enjoyed success when adapted for the big screen. Past entries at the box office have included Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None. It’s recently been announced that Ben Affleck will direct and star in the latest incarnation of her classic, Witness for the Prosecution.
The film can be found in the section of the Disney + app. This means that streaming A Haunting in Venice on the Disney+ platform requires an additional subscription to Hulu. But fans of suspense and horror films will surely find that paying for both services is worth seeing Fey and Branagh share the screen in what will one day be considered a classic.
