Box Office Round Up - 03-25-2019
If you weren't sure about Jordan Peele after Get Out, you certainly can be now. Two years after that film captivated critics and audiences alike en route to multiple Academy Award nominations, he's back with Us, another unique examination of race in America that only he could provide. It's official - Jordan Peele is one of the great mythmakers of this American moment.
Not only is Us's $70 million debut the third biggest ever for an R-rated movie, it's also the second largest opening of all time for any live-action film not based on an existing property, behind only Avatar. In a movie environment dominated by sequels, reboots, and 'expanded universes', it's an unbelievable accomplishment for anyone, let alone someone making just their second feature film.
It's rare that we get filmmakers capable of consistently reaching such mammoth levels of both critical and commercial success. Christopher Nolan comes to mind, just in terms of recent history. Certainly Quentin Tarantino as well, whose work combining horror and comedy echoes throughout both Get Out and Us. It's time to put Jordan Peele in that class of auteur as well.
For decades in Hollywood, the prevailing wisdom has been that majority-black productions simply could not carry the day at the box office, and thus were not worth investing in. Peele and a handful of other extremely talented filmmakers like Black Panther's Ryan Coogler are showing just how wrong that philosophy is. We all have a story to tell.
Next week sees yet another superhero adventure hit theaters in Shazam, as well as the Stephen King horror film Pet Sematary. See you then!
1. Us ($70.2 MM)
Director: Jordan Peele (CAA)
Writer: Jordan Peele
Cast: Lupita Nyong'o (CAA)
Winston Duke (CAA)
Tim Heidecker (UTA)
2. Captain Marvel ($35 MM)
Directors: Anna Boden (WME), Ryan Fleck (WME)
Writers: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Cast: Brie Larson (WME | Authentic)
Samuel L. Jackson (ICM Partners)
Ben Mendelsohn (CAA | Untitled)
3. Wonder Park ($9 MM)
Director: None
Writers: Josh Applebaum (WME), André Nemec (WME)
Cast: Brianna Denski (Stewart Talent)
Jennifer Garner (CAA | Management 360)
Kenan Thompson (UTA)
4. Five Feet Apart ($8.8 MM)
Director: Justin Baldoni (WME | Management 360)
Writers: Mikki Daughtry (Verve), Tobias Iaconis (Verve)
Cast: Haley Lu Richardson (Gersh | 3 Arts)
Cole Sprouse (WME | Authentic)
Moises Arias (KMR Talent)
5. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World ($6.5 MM)
Director: Dean DeBlois (WME)
Writer: Dean DeBlois
Cast: Jay Baruchel (CAA | Thruline)
America Ferrera (CAA)
Cate Blanchett (CAA)
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