Jordan Peele’s Us Has Record-Breaking $71.1 Million Number One Opening

Jordan Peele’s Us lived up to all the hype at the box office and now the writer-director can add another financial hit to his filmography.

Us grossed $71.1 million over the weekend and actually broke a few noteworthy records in the process including becoming the highest-grossing original horror opening ever (passing A Quiet Place’ $50.2 million),  the highest-grossing original R-rated opening ever (passing Universal’s Ted); the best opening for an original movie since 2009’s Avatar ($77 million) and the best opening for an live-action action title in March. This not only shows how impressive the opening actually is but also demonstrates how saturated the industry has become with sequels, reboots, and film’s based on popular material.

The film earned a “B” CinemaScore which is down from the “A-” that Peele’s previous film, Get Out received but it’s also not a bad grade for horror. He also improved on the opening of Get Out which launched with $33.3 million back in 2017. Get Out went on to gross $176 million at the domestic box office and that was due to solid word of mouth and minuscule drops in the weeks that followed the opening. I’m not sure if Us will have the same legs as Get Out since there seems to be a bit of divisiveness over the conclusion of the film but I still think he’s in a comfortable position to match what Get Out made and maybe go a little higher. Internationally, Us debuted in 47 markets and brought in an estimated $16.7 million led by a $3.67 million opening in the UK to go along with a $1.98 million France debut, $1.36 million in Germany and $1.17 million launch in Spain. Next weekend’s key markets include openings in Korea, Russia, and Australia followed by openings in Italy (Apr 4), Mexico (May 3) and finally Japan on August 23.

Captain Marvel drops to second but is still no slouch with a gross of $34.2 million. That’s a drop of 49.6% which is good considering that Us could’ve taken some of the younger crowd that Captain Marvel monopolized for two weeks. The film has grossed $320.7 at the domestic box office and is currently the tenth largest domestic release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Internationally, Captain Marvel delivered an estimated $52.1 million from 54 markets, pushing the film’s international cume to $588.8 million for a global tally topping $910 million. The film now ranks as the seventh largest global release in the MCU and will soon become the seventh film in the franchise to top $1 billion worldwide.

Dropping to third is Wonder Park with a gross of $8.7 million. The film dropped 44.7% which isn’t horrible but it’s still a tad steep for an animated film. I’m hearing this cost $70-100 million to make and with a gross of $29.2 million so far, it’s not going to come close to grossing enough to break even but Nickelodeon has plans to still make this a show so maybe that is where the money is at.

Holding well in fourth is Five Feet Apart with a gross of $8.5 million. The film dropped 35.2% which is a solid hold that shows how much the demographic is driving the movie. The gross currently stands at $26.2 million and I can see a $40 million final tally which would be ok considering the $7 million budget.

Rounding out the top five is How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World with a gross of $6.5 million. That’s a slim dip of 29.6% and it’s actually a drop it needed earlier in is run. The film has a domestic total of $145.7 million and internationally the film added another $6 million from 62 markets still in play, pushing its worldwide total over $488 million.

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