Writer-director Jordan Peele satirical horror “Get Out,” in 2017 received massive accolades from his fans. Peele is back with “Us,” a horror movie about a family whose vacation is shattered by doppelgangers.
Starring Lupita Nyong’o Universal’s “Us,” has dominated the domestic box office pulling off a stunning debut. It has topped the weekend box office with over $70 million (Ksh 7 Billion) out-performing the opening weekends for several recent horror hits, but delivering the second largest opening ever for a live-action, behind Disney’s “Captain Marvel” $153 million (Ksh 15.3 Billion).
Lupita stars alongside Evan Alex, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Winston Duke in the movie as a family forced to fend off blood-thirsty clones while on a vacation.
Produced for $2 Million (Sh 2 Billion) by Universal and Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions produced “Us” has been rated as the largest weekend for the original horror movie, outshining “A Quiet Place,” as well as the biggest launch for an original R-rated film behind “Ted.” It also shattered the benchmark set by Peele’s directorial debut “Get Out,” which launched with (Sh3.3 billion) in 2017.
“Put simply, Jordan Peele is a genius. He’s managed to tap into something that the domestic box office can’t get enough of. People can’t wait to see what he does next,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution.
2019 has been a good year for Universal so far. The studio now boasts the second, third, and fourth-best opening weekends of 2019 with “Us,” “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” ($55 million), and “Glass” ($40 million), respectively
With the better-than-expected debut of “Us,” ticket sales at domestic box office are pacing over 15% ahead of the same frame in 2018, when “Pacific Rim Uprising” was the No. 1 film in North America.
Internationally, “US” debuted in 47 markets bringing in an estimated $16.7 million led by a $3.67 million opening in the UK to go along with a $1.98 million France debut, $1.36 million in Germany and $1.17 million launch in Spain.
