Taking that all into account, “Tarot” doesn’t need to make all that much to break even. Even if it can get to $20 million worldwide, that’s probably enough for VOD to get it into profits. Beyond that, Sony also has an output deal with Netflix that helps bring some revenue down the line for its theatrical releases. Couple that with (admittedly minimal) Blu-ray/DVD sales and cable rights, and this movie is going to make money. If it somehow sprouts legs and doesn’t fall off a cliff in the coming weeks, it might even make a decent chunk of money. For what it’s worth, we don’t have another major studio horror movie until “The Strangers: Chapter 1” on May 17.

Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg’s “Tarot” centers on a group of friends who recklessly violate the sacred rule of Tarot readings by using someone else’s deck, which unwittingly unleashes an unspeakable evil trapped in the cursed cards. The cast includes Harriet Slater (“Pennyworth”), Adain Bradley (“Wrong Turn”), Avantika (“Mean Girls”), Wolfgang Novogratz (“The Half of It”), Humberly González (“Ginny & Georgia”), Larsen Thompson (“The Midnight Club”), and Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”).

Is this movie going to make enough to help bail out the summer movie season? Absolutely not. Is it perhaps an example of how being thrifty can ensure a certain level of success? I would say so. It’s not what I would call the model of success for the future, but it sure couldn’t hurt for big studios to experiment a bit with minimal spending on certain films to protect themselves. If you don’t spend a lot, you can’t lose a lot. You might even still manage to make some money, even with middling results.

“Tarot” is in theaters now.