Jordan Peele Hits a Home Run His First Time at Bat

Over the weekend, Jordan Peele's horror thriller Get Out leapt past The Blair Witch Project (1999) to become the highest-grossing film in United States history based on an original screenplay and helmed by a first-time director.

The demolition of this nearly 20-year record marks what could be a new era in Hollywood, where the box office potential of modestly budgeted original films made by black writer-directors is no longer up for debate.

Get Out was made for $4.6 million, but has made back over 30 times that amount — more than $150 million — at the domestic box office so far, reports Forbes. The film tells the story of Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a black photographer who finds himself confronted by sinister goings-on when he visits his white girlfriend Rose's (Allison Williams) parents one weekend.

Read the rest of this article at Mic.com.


Jordan Peele is also one half of the Key & Peele comedy duo.