Jordan Peele's 'Us' Has a Huge Opening Weekend
by EG
Everyone knew that Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out was going to do well on its opening weekend, but no one predicted how well it would do. The film's debut ticket sales outpaced even the most optimistic predictions by almost 50 percent. Read on for details.
It's official: writer-director Jordan Peele is a brand unto himself.
Two years after his feature directorial debut Get Out turned into a water-cooler sensation, Peele's critically acclaimed Us exceeded all expectations by opening to a stunning $70 million in North America — the third-biggest horror debut of all time behind 2017's It ($123.4 million), based on the Stephen King novel, and last year's Halloween update ($76.2 million).
That wasn't the only milestone. Us, from Universal, secured the top launch ever for an original horror title after screaming louder than John Kraskinki's A Quiet Place ($50.2 million). Ditto for an original R-rated movie after passing by 2012's Ted ($54.4 million).
Universal also says that Us is the biggest opening for an original live-action pic since James Cameron's 2009 Avatar ($77 million), unadjusted for inflation.
"Get Out certainly paved the way, but this level of box office is attributable to the extraordinary filmmaking, the performances and the writing," says Universal domestic distribution president Jim Orr. "This success very much lands at the feet of Jordan Peele. He has such a broad fan base."
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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