“Us” cruises by projections.
Jordan Peele’s Us was expected to pull in $68 million this weekend, but according to Deadline, the horror flick has already earned $70.2 million heading into Saturday. In comparison, Peele’s last film, Get Out, earned $33.3 million during its opening weekend. The massive haul for Us is the biggest opening for a live-action original movie since 2009s Avatar ($77 million). Classic reboots such as It ($123.4 million) and Halloween ($76.2 million) outgrossed Us, but Peele’s horror flick takes the number one spot for an original horror film opening. Originality is key ladies and gentlemen.
Fandango reports that Us is still number 1 in advance ticket sales for Sunday, which means that $70.2 million will only grow. In fact, Peele will be receiving my money tonight. “Simply put, Jordan Peele is a genius, and we’re thrilled he put his signature touch to the genre,” stated Universal domestic distribution boss Jim Orr. “Folks come out the movie and they have to talk about. It’s really a topic conversation, how people are interpreting the movie. That’s a great sign for legs.” Peele can now be considered a power player in Hollywood, commanding more power than he ever had in his career. So forget about those Key & Peele days and start getting used to Peele being mentioned alongside the Nolans, Russos, and Tarantinos the world.