Moviegoers ran toward the tornadoes this weekend, propelling “ Twisters ” to a blockbuster opening. The standalone sequel to the 1996 hit made $80.5 million in ticket sales from 4,151 theaters in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That’s about $30 million more than analysts expected initially, and makes for the biggest opening of a live-action movie yet this summer.
“ Twisters,” is a franchise. It may not be a direct sequel to “Twister” but it is benefiting from the brand recognition. The original Jan de Bont-directed film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton was a financial hit at the time and has only become more beloved over the years. This film, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, does not include any of the characters from the original and introduces a new crowd of storm chasers.
It opened last weekend in some markets internationally and continued its expansion this weekend. Globally, its total earnings is estimated to be $574.4 million.
“Twisters” has whipped up some spirited online discourse and debate, some about the film not explicitly referencing climate change and some about the lack of a kiss between Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. A video showing the kiss that was left on the cutting room floor made the rounds on social media over the weekend.
Universal also had the No. 2 movie in the country with “Despicable Me 4,” now in its third weekend. It added $23.8 million from North America, where it is still playing in over 4,000 theaters, bringing its domestic total to $259.5 million.
Third place went to another animated juggernaut: Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” now in its sixth weekend, and boasting a global total of $1.4 billion. It is quickly closing in on “Frozen 2” to earn the title of the biggest animated movie of all time.
Last year on this weekend “Barbenheimer” helped propel the box office to over $311 million. This weekend was never going to match that, but progress is still being made after a difficult start for the crucial summer moviegoing season.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- “Twisters,” $80.5 million.
- “Despicable Me 4,” $23.8 million.
- “Inside Out 2,” $12.8 million.
- “Longlegs,” $11.7 million.
- “A Quiet Place: Day One,” $6.1 million.
- “Fly Me to the Moon,” $3.4 million.
- “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” $2.7 million.
- “Bad Newz,” $1.1 million.
- “MaXXXine,” $819,242.
- “The Bikeriders,” $700,000.