Glass success inspiring Shyamalan to be more “risk taking” with Apple series

Despite lackluster reviews from critics M. Night Shyamalan’s GLASS is already a hit, making over $100 million worldwide after being in theaters for less than a week, and the director is over the moon. The success has been so positive on Shyamalan that it’s inspired him to embrace his weirder side, and in a new tweet said he will use that creative energy to make his upcoming Apple series even bolder.

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Shyamalan took to Twitter to express his excitement over GLASS officially crossing $100 million worldwide, using it as an opportunity to hail it as a success for smaller movies at the box office. Though not exactly a “small film” in terms of cast, distribution and fan anticipation, the budget was indeed a rather paltry $20 million, proving you don’t need 10 times that to make something people want to see.  The success is clearly affecting him because now he’s bringing that new creative vigor to his mystery Apple series:

“Thank you guys so much! For smaller films to compete and succeed at this level is amazing,” he posted to Twitter. “I’m working on my Apple show and it’s inspiring me to be even more idiosyncratic and risk taking. #letsgetweird”

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GLASS opened to a less-than-expected by still great $40 million last weekend ($46 million for the MLK 4-day weekend), making it Shyamalan’s second number one movie in a row (after SPLIT dominated its first weekend two years ago). He doesn’t have a new movie in the works (that we know of), but he has been putting a lot of time into his new Apple series, which is meant to be a psychological thriller. We only know it's about a family that hires a nanny to help them take care of their baby, with Toby Kebbell, Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint and more filling out the cast.

I don't know what creative juices are flowing through Shyamalan, but whatever they are I am very much in support. Sure, Shyamalan doesn't always do his best when he tries to go a little odd, but for a TV show through Apple that seems like the kind of energy he needs to make his series stand out from the pack. Let's just hope he doesn't get talking-to-plants-level idiosyncratic. 

GLASS is in theaters now.