Danny and Michael Philippou’s ‘Talk to Me’ Earns $45M Worldwide, Achieving 10x its $4.5M Budget

Danny and Michael Philippou’s ‘Talk to Me‘ earned $45 million at the worldwide box office. Despite a $4.5 million budget, it’s now made 10 times its cost. The film is set to rank among the top five highest-grossing A24 films.

‘Talk to Me’ earned around $3.16 million this weekend from 1,789 locations, bringing its estimated total domestic earnings to $37.37 million.

What is the Plot of Talk to Me?

At the beginning of ‘Talk to Me,’ two brothers, Cole (Ari McCarthy) and Duckett (Sunny Johnson), are the focus. Cole searches for Duckett at a wild house party. It’s clear Duckett is possessed, leading to a disturbingly violent scene. Onlookers watch in horror or flee, recording with their phones. This scene sets the tone for the film’s protagonist, Mia (Sophie Wilde), and her friends. The Philippou brothers also filmed a Duckett prequel, aiming for a future release.

In an interview with THR, Danny Philippou said, “We actually shot an entire Duckett prequel already. It’s told entirely through the perspective of mobile phones and social media, so maybe down the line we can release that.“

‘Talk to Me’ is a 2022 Australian supernatural horror film, marking Danny and Michael Philippou’s directorial debut and starring Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, and Miranda Otto. The film was released in Australia on July 27, 2023, followed by an international release. The film is the highest-rated horror movie of 2023, with a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and also received a B+ CinemaScore from audiences, one of the highest CinemaScore ratings for a horror movie.