'Twisters' rocks box office with powerful $80.5 million opening weekend

Analysts believe several factors contributed to the surge in initial ticket sales, the most important being that audiences simply dug the film.

“Twisters” is taking the box office by storm.

The movie, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” has collected a massive $80.5 million from 4,151 North American theaters in its debut. Heading into the weekend, the follow-up film was projected to generate $50 million to $55 million. It’s the third biggest opening weekend of the year behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million) and ahead of “Godzilla x Kong” ($80 million). Directed by “Minari” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, “Twisters” stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as storm chasers who find themselves in the fight of their lives as multiple tornadoes converge over central Oklahoma.

Analysts believe several factors contributed to the surge in initial ticket sales, the most important being that audiences simply dug the film. It holds an “A-” on CinemaScore. Nostalgia for the original blockbuster, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as the rising bankability of its stars Powell (of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Anyone But You” fame) and Edgar-Jones (a favorite from Hulu’s romantic drama “Normal People”), helped to drive interest.

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell appear in “Twisters.”©Universal/Courtesy Everett Col“It’s perfect summer entertainment,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “This is essentially the same havoc we saw the first time, but it’s 28 years later, and the spectacle, the special effects and the set pieces are bigger and better.”

“Twisters” cost $155 million to produce, not including the many millions in marketing. Universal Pictures backed the movie and released it domestically while Warner Bros. has international rights.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/twisters-box-office-805-million-opening-weekend-rcna162900

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