With an estimated $10.3M on Friday, Jordan Peele‘s critically acclaimed horror thriller ‘Us’ has surpassed the century mark at the box office domestically with an estimated $105M, making the Oscar winner the 6th Black director with multiple $100M grossing films, but the 1st with 2 ORIGINAL screenplays (not based on sequels, real life, or comic books).
With a production budget of $20M, Universal Pictures released the film last week and it outdid every box office expectations by bringing in a record $71M. It was the second largest opening ever for a live-action, original picture, and also the third largest opening of all-time for an R-rated horror film.
‘Us’ crossed the century mark in eight days where as his previous film, ‘Get Out,’ did so in 16 days and that film ended with a domestic total of $176M. Worldwide final numbers were at $225M.
As the 6th Black director to have multiple $100M grossing films domestically, Peele joins Ryan Coogler, F. Gary Gray, Tim Story, Antoine Fuqua, and Peter Ramsey. Although Coogler co-wrote Creed and Black Panther, both films were part of well-established franchises (Rocky and Marvel films respectively).
Set in present day along the iconic Northern California coastline, Us stars Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o as Adelaide Wilson, a woman returning to her beachside childhood home with her husband, Gabe (Black Panther’s Winston Duke), and their two children (Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex) for an idyllic summer getaway.
Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family.
After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.
Here are the other African American directors whose films grossed $100M domestically and the amount of days it took.
Ryan Coogler’s 2018 Black Panther (2 Days, $700M total domestic cume)
F. Gary Gray’s 2017 The Fate of the Furious (4 Days, $225M)
Jordan Peele’s 2019 Us (8 days, $105 and still going)
F. Gary Gray’s 2015 Straight Outta Compton (9 Days, $161M)
Tim Story’s 2005 Fantastic Four (10 days, $154M)
Tim Story’s 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (12 days, $131M)
Keenan Ivory Wayans’s 2000 Scary Movie (14 days, $157M)
Jordan Peele’s 2017 Get Out (16 days, $176M)
John Singleton’s 2003 2 Fast 2 Furious (17 days, $127M)
Peter Ramsey’s 2018 Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (17 days, $189.9M)
Tim Story’s 2014 Ride Along (23 days, $134M)
Steven Caple Jr’s 2018 Creed II (23 days, $115.7M)
Clark Johnson’s 2003 S.W.A.T (24 days, ($116M)
Malcolm D. Lee’s 2017 Girl Trip (28 days, $140M)
Ryan Coogler’s 2015 Creed (38 Days, $109M)
Antoine Fuqua’s 2018 The Equalizer 2 (45 days, $102M)
Lee Daniels with 2013 Lee Daniels’ The Butler (46 days, $116M)
Antoine Fuqua’s 2014 The Equalizer (66 days, $101M)
Peter Ramsey’s 2012 Rise of the Guardians (67 days, $103M)
F. Gary Gray’s 2003 The Italian Job (95 days, $106.1M)
Ava DuVernay’s 2018 A Wrinkle In Time (102 days, $100.4M)
Sidney Poitier’s 1980 Stir Crazy took in a domestic total $101.3M but there are no records that show how many days it took to reach that mark. It’s worth noting “Crazy” was the first time a film directed by an African-American earned more than $100 million.
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