Jordan Peele’s Us scared up a new box office record in its first weekend in theaters as the film set the best-ever opening for an original horror movie.
With a $70 million domestic opening weekend – nearly double its early estimates of $38 million – Us surpassed A Quiet Place for the best opening for an original horror film, and posted the best opening for an original R-rated film since Ted in 2012, Variety reported.
Us also more than doubled the opening weekend haul of Peele’s 2017 hit Get Out, which debuted domestically with $33 million on its way to a $176 million domestic gross; Get Out‘s production budget was $4.5 million, while Us reportedly had a $20 million budget.
“Put simply, Jordan Peele is a genius,” Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, said in a statement to Variety. “He’s managed to tap into something that the domestic box office
Us also ended Captain Marvel‘s two-week reign atop the box office. Us‘ $70 million was the second-best opening of 2019, behind Captain Marvel‘s $153 million debut.
2017’s It, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel, established the all-time highest opening box office for a horror film with $123 million. Deadpool 2, a Marvel property, holds the record for best rated-R opening with $132 million.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Rolling Stone