us

Source: Universal Pictures

‘Us’

MARCH 25 UPDATE: Riding high on frenzied buzz and comparisons – by some observers in the US at least – to Alfred Hitchcock, Jordan Peele confirmed that he is the genuine article as Us, his follow-up to global hit Get Out, delivered the highest debut of all time for an original horror film in North America on a confirmed $71.1m.

Furthermore the story of a family hunted by their doppelgangers produced the third highest horror film opening weekend in North America, behind It on $123.4m and last year’s Halloween reboot on $76.2m.

Lupta Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Elizabeth Moss star in Us which premiered earlier this month at SXSW and is heading for a profitable ride given the reported budget of $20m excluding marketing costs. It opened in 3,741 theatres and should soar past $100m by next weekend. Get Out finished on $176m in North America in 2017, and grossed $255.4m worldwide.

Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel slid to number two in its third session, earning $34.3m to push the running total to a commendable $320.7m. It looks unlikely to overtake Wonder Woman, which finished in North America on $412.6m, although it has comfortably overtaken its female-led DC Entertainment peer at the international and global box office.

Gloria Bell starring Julianne Moore vaulted 10 slots via A24 to number seven in its third weekend after expanding from 38 venues to 654, earning $1.7m for $2.3m. Sebastian Lelio’s English-language drama is a remake of his Chilean hit Gloria starring Berlinale 2013 Silver Bear best actress winner Paulina Garcia.

CBS Films’ romance Five Feet Apart slipped a decent 35.2% in a second weekend of mixed fortunes for several films. The romance added $8.5m for $26.3m through Lionsgate and ranked fourth. Pantelion’s Spanish-language No Manches Frida 2 slipped 53.8% and one slot to number seven on $1.8m for $6.6m, while Paramount’s family animation Wonder Park fell 44.7% and one place to number three on $8.2m for a disappointing $29.5m.

Participant Media’s sci-fi Captive State dropped out of the top ten in its second session, sliding a heavy 69.4% and four places to number 11 through Focus Features on $959,165 for $5.3m. NEON’s moon mission documentary Apollo 11 has grossed an impressive $6.9m after a mere four weekends in release and held firm at number 12. Bleecker Street opened terrorist attack drama Hotel Mumbai starring Armie Hammer and Dev Patel at number 36 on $88,065 in four venues for a strong $22,016 average.

Box office for the top 12 combined for $141m for a 9.5% climb against last weekend, and a 22.9% gain on the comparable session in 2018.

This week’s wide releases are Disney’s live-action Dumbo from Tim Burton starring Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Eva Green, and Danny DeVito; NEON’s recent SXSW premiere The Beach Bum directed by Harmony Korine and starring Matthew McConaughey; and the drama Unplanned through Pure Flix.

Confirmed top 10 North America Mar 22-24 2019
Film (Dist) / Conf wkd gross / Conf total to date

1 (-) Us (Universal) Universal Pictures International $71.1m –

2 (1) Captain Marvel (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $34.3m $321.5m

3 (2) Wonder Park (Paramount) Paramount Pictures International $8.8m $29.2m

4 (3) Five Feet Apart (Lionsgate) Lionsgate International $8.5m $26.3m

5 (4) How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Universal) Universal Pictures International $6.5m $145.7m

6 (5) Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral (Lionsgate) Lionsgate International $4.4m $65.8m

7 (6) No Manches Frida 2 (Pantelion) $1.8m $6.6m

8 (18) Gloria Bell (A24) FilmNation $1.7m $2.3m

9 (8) The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $1.2m $103.4m

10 (9) Alita: Battle Angel (Fox) Fox International $1.1m $83.8m