Any movie that isn’t part of a franchise or based on existing IP can struggle at the box office these days. Any time a movie based on a original screenplay does well, it’s cause for celebration, and Jordan Peele’s horror movies are certainly original. And his latest horror movie, Nope, looks set to replicate the success of his previous two.
Jordan Peele made the leap from comedy sketch shows such as Key and Peele to horror auteur in 2017 with Get Out, which had a $33 million opening weekend and would go on to make $255 million in total. His 2019 follow up, Us, had a bigger opening weekend – of $71 million – but would end up matching Get Out’s box office of $255 million.
Nope’s weekend box office takings of $44 million may be lower than the initial takings for Us, but it’s the biggest opening haul of any original movie since Peele’s sophomore movie was released. At this point, it seems as though Peele is only competing with himself. Nope’s budget of $68 million makes it an extremely rare beast in the current climate – a mid-budget original movie.
Get Out launched the Hollywood career of British actor Daniel Kaluuya and earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination – a rare feat for an actor of his age. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Judas & the Black Messiah in 2021. He has reteamed with Peele for Nope, alongside Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun.
Peele’s second film Us starred Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as a married couple with two children who find themselves invaded and plagued by their evil doppelgangers. Nyong’o and Duke have both been at San Diego Comic Con over the weekend to celebrate the release of the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Nyong’o plays Nakia and Duke plays M’Baku and both are returning for the hotly-anticipated sequel.
Nope will not be released in international markets such as the UK and Australia until August 11-12, and with the proliferation of internet spoilers and piracy, this will probably affect its international box office takings.
Find out whether Get Out made our list of the best horror movies.