Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde, had a strong start at the box office, earning $9.4 million on Friday and anticipating a $21 million debut weekend (including Thursday previews). Don’t Worry Darling was the sole source of tabloid headlines for what felt like months, and it had to deal with negative reviews, numerous scandals, and significant backstage turmoil. Warner Bros. spent $35 million on the Stepford Wives-esque original film Don’t Worry Darling, which stars Florence Pugh and music singer Harry Styles.
The film’s B- CinemaScore from opening-day viewers isn’t exactly encouraging for how well it will fare over time. In addition, the reviews haven’t exactly been stellar. Brian Formo described it as a “superficial matinée thriller” that “doesn’t sting as it should in the end.”
Starring with Wilde are Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Kate Berlant. More than two-thirds of the opening-day attendance was made up of women. The North American release of “Don’t Worry, Darling” has reached over 4,100 screens. The Woman King, which skews similarly to this week’s new release in terms of gender, is predicted to see a 43% drop in its second weekend.
After a $2.95 million opening day, the historical drama directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and starring Viola Davis is projected to earn $10 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $35 million. The movie exceeded expectations and was the top earner at the box office last weekend. Releasing James Cameron’s Avatar again in theatres to promote the sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, which will be released in December, brought in $3.2 million on Friday and is projected to earn roughly $9 million over the weekend.
The current domestic total for the picture is roughly $760 million, making it the fourth highest of all time after Spider-Man: No Way Home ($814 million), Avengers: Endgame ($858 million), and The Force Awakens ($956 million). With its $2.85 billion in worldwide ticket sales (without accounting for inflation), Avatar is still the most successful picture of all time. The buzzy horror film Barbarian from 20th Century Studios had another outstanding hold, with a predicted drop of only 28% in its third weekend. This weekend’s anticipated earnings of $4.7 million will bring the film’s domestic total to well over $25 million. A24’s Pearl, again another horror picture, will finish out the top five and earn $6.6 million on the domestic front.
Directed by Ti West, Pearl is a sequel to last year’s global box office flop X, which grossed just about $14 million. The sequel MaXXXine is currently under production. Bros, from Universal, has received positive reviews and is being billed as the “first homosexual romantic comedy from a major studio boasting an exclusively LGBTQ primary cast.” It will be released the following weekend.