A shark movie with a Latino bent has taken the world by surprise by topping the Amazon Prime charts with barely any marketing or fanfare. The Black Demon, about a killer shark hunting a family on an oil rig, has topped the rankings since it premiered on Aug. 22 (It fell to third on Wednesday).
So how did it happen? How did this unknown killer shark movie beat out much more well known fare like The Summer I Turned Pretty; Red, White & Royal Blue; Dungeons & Dragons and Cocaine Bear? It wasn’t easy.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the producers of the film to figure out just how this whole thing went down. Here’s something crazy: the movie was made for under $10 million. That’s the price of the craft table on a Christopher Nolan movie.
Also, it’s a Latino movie, which movie executives like to say aren’t viable. A good movie is a good movie, regardless of its bent. Look at Barbie, one of the most profitable movies ever and it was supposed to be a “movie for women.”
Javier Chapa, a producer and head of Mucho Más Media, which kickstarted the movie, said, “no one has ever seen a genre shark movie with a Latino bent.”
“That’s where we saw the opportunity, given our company’s ethos is all about really supporting people of color on both sides of the camera — but also filling a highly underserved need in our community.”
Here’s the logline:
“Oilman Paul Sturges’ idyllic family vacation turns into a living nightmare when they encounter a gigantic megalodon shark that will stop at nothing to protect its territory. Stranded and under constant attack, Paul and his family must somehow find a way to get back to shore alive before it strikes again.”
There’s also a supernatural aspect to the movie, as the shark might be the herald of the ancient Aztec god Tlaloc. Mexican-born director Adrian Grunberg, who directed Get the Gringo and Rambo: Last Blood, helmed the film.
There were some issues with financing (the movie has 17 executive producers) but eventually the movie’s distribution rights eventually sold to Amazon.
Josh Lucas stars as the dad, and Fernanda Urrejola, Venus Ariel and Julio Cesar Cedillo fill out the rest of the cast. It was filmed in the Dominican Republic with a large water tank and manmade almost three story oil rig. Because there were kids involved, production time was limited.
Oh and there was a COVID outbreak, which did the opposite of speeding up filming.
“Water, kids and Covid — there was definitely some tough times,” Chapa said. “But I think these are the good times, to see what people are responding to, to see it at the top of the charts. These are the fruits of your labour.”
It’s a testament to the quality of the film that it snagged the number one spot with only one known star, no advertising, no soundtrack to promote, no T.V. spots and no splashy P.R. campaign. Chapa says a lot of that is due to the latino community.
“That the Latino community doesn’t get a lot of support on films, it’s shocking to me. They are the most aggressive moviegoing audience, more than any other cohort. And to me, it’s the million-dollar question: why aren’t more people making films that are universal but that are by and for that community?”
The Black Demon is currently streaming on Amazon.