A couple of weeks ago, Captain Marvel singlehandedly saved the box office and now it’s about to be frightened right out of the spot it so heroically rescued. Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated Us is about to enter the marketplace and a big opening is in its sights.
Universal has put a lot of marketing muscle into Peele’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Get Out, which surprised many when it opened to $33.3 million in 2017 and legged it out to a very impressive domestic take of $176 million. Horror films don’t usually have that kind of staying power but Get Out was a word of mouth hit that was bolstered by solid critical reviews. If you remember, 90% of Get Out‘s business came from walk-ups versus advance ticket sales, which indicates word of mouth was in full effect over its opening weekend, fueling business. Get Out did gain initial groundswell when it was the sneak screening at Sundance in 2017. The good feedback from that screening really got social media buzzing and after the film opened, it was good old-fashioned word of mouth that kept in the public consciousness.
Us is performing a similar fashion as it heads into its opening weekend. Universal moved the date of the film from last weekend to its current release date in order for Us to collect some momentum following its March 8 SXSW world premiere. The SXSW screening was a huge success and from there the film came out of the gate with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and many calling Peele a modern-day Alfred Hitchcock. Us has since slipped to a still solid 98% and those good reviews will go a long way to making the film blow up this weekend and it could lead to legs that are equal to what Get Out pulled off in 2017.
Another promising sign for the weekend business is advanced ticket sales. Fandango is reporting that Us advanced sales are outpacing Get Out but most importantly, A Quiet Place. The latter is significant because that film ended up opening to an impressive $50.2 million after tracking at a mere $20 million. Us is tracking at $45-50 million and this early business gives me the impression that it’s bound to shatter its tracking. On Fandango, Us is also the bestselling horror film for the online and mobile advance ticket retailer since Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s Halloween ($76.s million). Will Us go that high? I have my doubts but I do think $55-60 million is in the cards this weekend.
