As the newest creature feature starring Idris Elba roared its way into theaters this weekend, Beast debuted at second place at the domestic box office with $11.570 million at the domestic box office, falling behind Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero which opened to $20.100 million this weekend.
In addition to the film's domestic gross, Beast also managed to grab $10.3 million at the worldwide box office to a total of $21.852 million for the film. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews with a 68% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77% audience rating with criticism aimed at the film's derivative story, but praise directed toward the performances from the cast. Despite the film's small opening, with a lack of major competitive releases for the next few weeks, Beast could potentially have some steady legs which could help break even its $36 million budget.
In contrast to previous creature features, Beast falls behind The Shallows, which features a shark as its main antagonist and opened to $16.801 million in the summer of 2016. The film also fell slightly behind Crawl, a film featuring alligators, which opened to $12.005 million in 2019. The next few weeks will be an indication of whether audiences have an appetite for the R-rated thriller film.
As Beast currently plays in theaters, Elba will also star in George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing, which debuts later this month. The actor is also set to reprise his role as John Luther in Luther, a spinoff film of the television series of the same name.
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who previously helmed Everest, Beast stars Elba alongside Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, and Leah Sava Jeffries. James Lopez, Will Packer, and Jaime Primak Sullivan serve as producers for the film.
Distributed by Universal Pictures, Beast is now playing exclusively in theaters. Check out the official trailer and synopsis for the new film below:
Elba plays Dr. Nate Daniels, a recently widowed husband who returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley, Russian Doll series, Maleficent), an old family friend and wildlife biologist. But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of blood-thirsty poachers who now sees all humans as the enemy, begins stalking them.