The North American box office roared back to life over the U.S. Memorial Day weekend as two new movies performed better than expected.
A Quiet Place Part II grossed $57 million U.S. from Friday through Monday, the biggest box office haul in the pandemic-era and more money than the first Quiet Place film, which grossed $50.2 million, earned during its opening weekend back in 2018.
Analysts say a Quiet Place II’s strong performance proves that the box office is rebounding after 15 months of being decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Quiet Place II is getting an exclusive theatrical release before hitting streaming service Paramount+ in 45 days. Overseas, the horror/thriller movie took in $22 million U.S. for a global gross of nearly $80 million U.S. through Monday.
Fellow Memorial Day movie Cruella also performed strongly at the domestic box office even though the film is simultaneously available on the Disney+ streaming platform at a cost of $30.
Cruella had a four-day theatrical gross of $26.5 million U.S. The family-friendly origin film stars Emma Stone as the infamous Cruella de Vil from the Disney (NYSE:DIS) movie 101 Dalmatians. Overseas Cruella took in $16.1 million U.S. from 29 markets for a global take of $42.6 million U.S.
Heading into the weekend, most thought the ceiling for A Quiet Place II was $40 million U.S., considering the substantial challenges still facing the box office. Nearly 30% of theaters are still closed in North America — a large number of them in Canada — and many locations that are reopened face capacity restrictions.
Thanks to A Quiet Place II and Cruella, Memorial Day weekend’s overall revenue in North America was more than $100 million U.S. Elsewhere, F9, the latest movie in the Fast and Furious franchise, crossed the $200 million U.S. mark internationally, where it debuted in select markets ahead of its North American launch.
Related Stories
