Michael Dougherty's fantasy horror film "Krampus" topped the box office on Dec. 4.
According to The Wrap, "Krampus" surpassed Francis Lawrence's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2," Peter Sohn's "The Good Dinosaur," and Ryan Coogler's "Creed," grossing an estimated $6 million, after its release in 2,902 theaters on Dec. 4.
Lawrence's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" ranked second with $5.6 million and Coogler's "Creed" remained as third place with $4.6 million. Sohn's "The Good Dinosaur" came at the fourth spot with $3.4 million.
Many believe that the film's performance was astonishing, since it managed to rank first, considering that it opening in only less than 3,000 theaters, unlike the films that followed it at the box office. If "Krampus" grosses $15 million for its opening weekend, it would be about $3 million more than its pre-release predictions and would be at par with its production budget.
Dougherty's "Krampus" is not projected to fall that much from being a hit at the box office, according to Deadline. It is predicted that should its rank at the box office fall, "Krampus" would only lose 5 percent from its $6 million gross.
"Krampus" follows a boy who had a bad Christmas accidentally summoning a Christmas demon to their home. The name "Krampus" came from the German word "krampen," which means claw. In Norse mythology, Krampus is the son of Hel. He is depicted as a legendary beast, sharing characteristics of other demonic creatures - horns, dark hair, fangs.
Regarded as an anti-St. Nicholas figure, Krampus has a chain and bells that he lashes about, together with a bundle of birch sticks that he uses to hit naughty children before taking them to his world.
In Europe, Krampus is a known myth celebrated with street parades. It is a part of Germany's Christmas tradition, in which celebrations begin in early December. According to the legend, Krampus appears in towns on the night of Dec. 5, which was called "Krampus Night."
The event is celebrated on Dec. 5, since Dec. 6 happens to be "Nikolaustag" or "St. Nicholas Day," when children look outside their door to check if the boot or shoe they left out the night before contains presents as reward for good behavior or a rod for bad behavior.
The film starred Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allisin Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, and Emjay Anthony, among others.
Along with "X2" and "Superman Returns" screenwriter Dougherty as the film director, Todd Casey and Zach Shields wrote the film screenplay.
Dougherty's "Krampus" is still showing in theaters.
Watch the "Krampus" trailer here: