‘Us’ Had the Biggest Opening Weekend Ever for An Original Horror Movie
Us has only been in theaters for three days but it’s already breaking box-office records. In its opening weekend, the film earned $70.3 million in U.S. theaters, which is the biggest debut in history for an original horror film:
There are a lot of non-“original live-action film”s that have made a lot more than Us, but that does reflect just how big of an opening this number is for a movie that isn‘t based on anything that previously existed in film or another medium.
For some perspective, $70.3 million is more than double the $33.3 million opening writer/director Jordan Peele’s first film, Get Out, had back in the winter of 2017. That movie went on to earn more than $255 million worldwide against a budget of just $4.5 million. Us had a bigger budget — reportedly some $20 million — but it’s already made far more than that in just a few days in theaters.
The only bit of not-great news for Us is the B CinemaScore the movie earned from viewers who saw it this weekend. That’s not a terrific rating — Get Out got an A- — and it suggests the word of mouth on the film might not be particularly strong.
Still, Us is already a solid hit. The question now is how big of a hit will it become? You can see Us with the special double in your life this week.
Gallery — The Biggest Second Weekends in Box Office History: