Writer-director Jordan Peele notched the third number one debut of his career with Nope, described as “a dark pop nightmare of uncanny science fiction and complex social thriller that unpacks the seeds of violence.” The film opened to $44 million at the domestic box office, ahead of its international rollout, which begins on August 12.
While Nope’s opening weekend haul fell short of the $71 million that Peele’s previous horror hit, Us, made in its first weekend in 2019, it outperformed the filmmaker’s directorial debut, Get Out, which made $33 million in its opening weekend back in 2017. Both Get Out and Us ended their global theatrical runs with nearly identical $255 million-plus hauls. Get Out also earned Peele an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and Us established him as one of the finest horror filmmakers working today.
Nope’s $44 million haul, which is slightly lower than the $50 million that was projected going into the weekend, is the best domestic debut for an original screenplay since Us, and marginally better than Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ($41 million July 2019). Additionally, Nope outperformed Elvis, which opened to $31 million a few weeks ago.
It’s also the fifth number one opening for a Universal horror film in the pandemic era, following The Black Phone, Halloween Kills, Candyman (which was also produced by Peele) and The Forever Purge. The studio has four titles on the list of the top 10 R-rated openings at the domestic box office in the pandemic era.
IMAX contributed to $5.2 million. The film has been shot using the large-format IMAX film cameras by the renowned cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who is perhaps best known for his collaborations with director Christopher Nolan — Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet and the upcoming Oppenheimer. Nope is, after all, the biggest film of Peele’s career, with a reported budget of $68 million, which is far higher than the $20 million that Us was produced for, and the $4.5 million that Get Out cost.
Reviews for Nope have praised the film’s narrative and visual ambition, although a B CinemaScore from opening day audiences could be perceived as a sign of concern for the film’s future. It certainly didn’t show any signs of tanking in its opening weekend, with Saturday’s $13 million haul roughly in line with Friday’s tally, minus the $6.4 million it made in Thursday previews.
Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Barbie Ferreira, Terry Notary, Donna Mills, Jennifer Lafleur, Sophia Coto, and Keith David.
Watch our interview with Peele here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates: