Box office analysts had already anticipated that Jordan Peele’s Us would conquer the box office over its opening weekend. But few predicted the Oscar winner’s follow-up to Get Out would go on to nab the largest debut ever for an original horror movie.
Such is the case for the Lupita Nyong-o vehicle. In just three days, Us has raked in a staggering $70.3 million across U.S. theaters, a remarkable upgrade from his 2017 debut, which earned a then-impressive $33.3 million in its opening weekend.
What’s more, Us now sits comfortably with the third largest opening of all time for an R-rated horror film, namely six million behind last October’s Halloween ($76.2 mil) and, well, 53 million removed from 2017’s behemoth It (123.4 mil). Ghouls rule.
(Interview: Horror and Race: How Jordan Peele’s Get Out Flips the Script)
But the record extends beyond just the horror genre. The receipts make Us the largest opening for a live-action, original film since Avatar’s $77 million debut back in 2009, which more or less says everything about today’s era of sequels, reboots, and remakes.
Bottom line: Jordan Peele is the most powerful voice in original storytelling right now for Hollywood, and to think, we’re only a week removed from his highly anticipated reboot of The Twilight Zone for CBS All Access. Unreal.
