Cult-favorite director Jordan Peele continues to appeal. His original IP thriller Nope had an excellent opening with $44 million. That’s not as good as the premiere of Us, which earned $70.2M in its opening frame, but that was in 2019, pre-pandemic. (Also, to be honest, Us was not as warmly received as Peele’s first movie, Get Out, which may have turned some potential viewers off of Nope.) During the pandemic, Nope is the second-best opening for a horror movie, trailing behind Halloween Kills which debuted with $49.4M last year.
As far as reactions to Nope, it has a fresh critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes at 82%. Its audience score isn’t as high at 71%. (Us was much more beloved by critics with a 93% critical rating. It scored worse with audiences, with a lowly 60%.) Exiting audiences were generally positive, but not necessarily glowing. Nope was bestowed with a B via CinemaScore and 79% positive via PostTrak.
According to Universal Domestic Distribution Boss Jim Orr:
“Jordan Peele is a master storyteller and with Nope, another example of his unique voice. He and his incredible cast led by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer thrilled audiences across North America this weekend with a film that is a true ‘see it on the big screen’ theatrical experience.’”
Expect Nope to be front-loaded. As with all Peele flicks, it pivots on a twist, so most fans wanted to check it out on the first weekend before that twist could be spoiled online. But if people can avoid spoilers, it’s possible that Nope could do well in the coming weeks if it generates positive word of mouth. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, based on the so-so reactions so far.
BUT, working in Nope’s favor, there are no more potential blockbusters headed to multiplexes during the late summer, with only Bullet Train possibly breaking through.
The rest of the Top Five remains the same as last weekend, just nudged down one spot. Elvis dropped out.
Check them out below:
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- Nope (Universal) – 3-day $44M/Wk 1
- Thor: Love and Thunder (Disney) – 3-day $22.1M/Total $276.2M /Wk 3
- Minions: Rise of Gru (Universal) – 3-day $17.7M/Total: $297.8M/Wk 4
- Where the Crawdads Sings (Sony) – 3-day $10.33M/Total $38.3M/Wk 2
- Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount) – 3-day $10M/Total $635.5M/Wk 9
Next weekend, some counterprogramming arrives. Last weekend, Paws of Fury attempted to steal Minions: The Rise of Gru‘s thunder but failed miserably, not even cracking the Top Five. But Minions has now been out for a month. Could that open the door for League of Super-Pets?
Working in Super-Pets‘ favor is that it is based on an existing popular IP — the DC Superheroes, whereas Paws of Fury was original. After The Batman, it may be nice for parents to have a DC movie they can actually take children to see.
As of last weekend, League of Super-Pets was predicted to open at around $30M. If Nope drops the way I think it will, that could easily be enough for Super-Pets to take #1.
Like many modern animated movies, this one features an all-star voice cast and it’s one of the biggest and most flashy, with Dwayne Johnson as Krypto, Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound, Kate McKinnon as the villain Lulu, John Krasinski (who just made his Marvel debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Vanessa Bayer as PB, Natasha Lyonne as Terrific Whatzit, Diego Luna as Chip, Thomas Middleditch and Ben Schwartz as Lulu’s guinea pig henchmen, Keanu Reeves as Batman, Marc Maron as Lex Luthor, Jameela Jamil as Wonder Woman, Olivia Wilde as Lois Lane, Jemaine Clement as Aquaman, John Early as The Flash, Daveed Diggs as Cyborg, and Dascha Polanco as Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz).
Will this stellar voice cast entice you to check League of Super-Pets even if you don’t have kids?
