Sony’s New Reboot of an Iconic ’90s Monster Movie Isn’t What Fans Expected (And It Has A Big Problem)

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Though the ’90s were a tough time for horror movies on the whole, there were still some monster movies that really defined it. Not only did that decade bring us Tremors and Arachnophobia, but it saw the debut of what is now perhaps a cult classic, 1997’s Anaconda. A film now defined by the meme potential of its silliest moments, Anaconda was a decent hit upon release, with the film grossing over $136 million. Sony’s new reboot of Anaconda however wants you to laugh with it, not at it, as seen in the trailer for the film starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd.

Anaconda 2025 Is an Actual Comedy This Time

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When news of an Anaconda reboot was first announced, it did make it clear that it wasn’t a regular reboot of a ’90s horror movie, but one that had its forked tongue firmly in its cheek. That was no more clear than when the cast of Jack Black, Paul Rudd, and Steve Zahn was confirmed, but the trailer itself wastes no time in revealing the true tone of this movie.

Seemingly taking inspiration from that iconic story of friends who created a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in their backyard as kids, Anaconda (2025) follows Doug (Black) and Griff (Rudd) as they set out to accomplish their childhood dream of remaking Anaconda. The absurdity at the heart of the reboot is perhaps a breath of fresh air from another generic “here’s a big snake” movie, but it’s already clear that this version of an Anaconda reboot isn’t at all what fans thought they were going to get.

As of this writing, the top comment on YouTube for the trailer is a user saying, “Not exactly what I imagined when I heard of an Anaconda Reboot,” which sounds like damning with faint praise, but what becomes clear from reading the other reactions is that the tone is striking a cord. “This feels like a 2000’s late night comedy. I love it,” wrote one user, with another adding: “This is basically Tropic Thunder but instead of a war movie, its a giant snake movie. I’M SEATED!!!!!”

The distinct tonal shift for this Anaconda movie already seems like a potential winner for Sony Pictures, however, there is one big problem already in front of the movie when it comes to its release.

Anaconda Has Major Box Office Competition

Even with a positive initial response to the trailer, there’s one big thing standing in the way of this movie from being an immediate success. For starters, the new Anaconda slithers into theaters on Christmas Day, a time which is largely dominated by families attending movies together or when Oscar buzz is really starting to take shape. Genre movies certainly can find success in this time as counter programming to both of those, but there’s a history of it not playing out.

The biggest thing however isn’t just the season that Anaconda is being released, but the competition that it faces. When Anaconda debuts on Christmas Day, it will arrive just six days after Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in James Cameron’s franchise that already seems poised to make another couple of billion at the box office. Further more, Anaconda will also be opening right after the upcoming The Housemaid, a psychological thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and based on Freida McFadden’s novel that is sure to act as yet another piece of counter programming.

Suffice to say, Anaconda has a steep hill ahead of it not only because of the history of genre movies at the Christmas season, but major, major competition in front of it. With those two movies having a six day advantage on Anaconda, not to mention Avatar: Fire and Ash swallowing up all the premium format screens, the word of mouth about both of those movies could quickly overshadow Anaconda and its silly tone.

On the flipside, Sony did find tremendous success back in 2017 by releasing Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle against Star Wars: The Last Jedi. At the time this was seen as something of a bad idea, it was when Disney’s Star Wars revival was at its fever-pitch and it was assumed that nothing could stop it. Instead, Jumanji went on to gross over $961 million at the global box office, revived the franchise entirely after decades, and gave Sony Pictures one of their biggest movies of all-time. Maybe Anaconda can do the same thing.

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