Comedian-turned-Director Jordan Peele has made another box office smash with his latest film, “Nope,” striking gold again with actor Daniel Kaluuya.
This time, Kaluuya is joined by Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun in the UFO thriller that brought in $44 million in ticket sales, according to a statement of Sunday from Universal Pictures.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the movie opened in 3,785 theaters across the United States and Canada and underperformed compared to his last in-theater release, “Us,” which grossed $71 million over its first-weekend debut.
Both films owned their first weekend numbers coming in the #1 spot.
“Nope” is now $24 million away from recouping its production and marketing costs. The budget for this sci-fi film, skating around Octavia Butler’s Afrofuturism space, is almost triple the combined costs of both “Us” and “Get Us,” his breakout movie as a filmmaker.
Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, said, “It’s a great number. It’s amazing how broadly it’s playing too.”
“Jordan Peele crafted an incredible film,” Orr added. “And it is absolutely something that should be seen on the big screen.”
One expert said he needs more time to see the film’s success.
“An opening weekend for a Jordan Peele film is not the right metric. We have to see where it is a month from now,” Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “‘Nope’ could have solid, long-term playability as the word gets out. One need only look at ‘Elvis’ to see that a film doesn’t have to open huge to be a big success.”
Check out this weekend’s box office numbers.
1. Nope,” $44 million.
2. “Thor: Love and Thunder,” 22.1 million.
3. “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” $17.7 million.
4. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” $10.3 million.
5. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $10 million.
6. “Elvis,” $6.3 million.
7. “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank,” $3.9 million.
8. “The Black Phone,” $3.5 million.
9. “Jurassic World Dominion,” $3 million.
10. “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” $1.4 million.
