Jordan Peele's 'Us' makes Box Office History

 

Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his 2017 smash hit Get Out, was extraordinarily high heading into its opening weekend. Us, his latest feauture earned $70.3 millon domestically in it's debut. It’s reportedly the biggest opening ever for an original horror movie, a grand achievement for the burgeoning horror auteur.

Us even came close to surpassing last year’s other huge horror hit, the 11th entry in the Halloween franchise, which brought in $76 million domestically on its opening weekend. It also opened in 47 territories abroad, bringing in $16.7 million internationally for a worldwide total of nearly $87 million — all on a relatively modest $20 million production budget.

The movie which stars Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke and a whole lot of sneaky Easter eggs, has already easily earned back its $20 million budget. There were early signs that the film was going to be a hit, based on its warm world premiere at SXSW and strong Thursday night preview sales, which saw the film rake in around $6 million.

That phenomenon is related to the outdated Hollywood notion that “black films don’t travel,” i.e., that films starring predominantly black casts don’t perform well outside the US. Over the past few years, the huge success both in the US and abroad of movies ranging from blockbusters like Black Panther to more specialized movies such as Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Straight Outta Compton, and Sorry to Bother You — not to mention Get Out — has repeatedly dispelled that myth, but Hollywood learns slowly.

No matter what happens in the film’s second weekend, though, Us’s success makes it clear that Jordan Peele is one of Hollywood’s most bankable and buzzworthy filmmakers, the relatively rare director (alongside figures like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino) who can bring people into the movie theater on the strength of his name alone.