In the end, there was no need to worry, darling. Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychological thriller with off-screen drama that rivaled any antics in the actual movie, scored at the box office in its opening weekend, collecting a leading $19.2 million from 4,113 North American theaters.
At the international box office, the film added another $10.8 million for a global tally of $30 million.
Those ticket sales indicate that behind-the-scenes scandals didn’t ding interest in the film, which co-stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. All the talk about Spitgate, awkward press conferences and a seemingly endless stream of tabloid fodder may have even boosted awareness. (Well, that, and the overwhelming desire to watch the world-famous pop star in his first major film role.) Whatever the reason that brought audiences to theaters, it’s an impressive debut for the $35 million-budgeted “Don’t Worry Darling.”
The movie, backed by Warner Bros., landed a mediocre “B-” CinemaScore from moviegoers, suggesting that word-of-mouth could be a problem beyond its opening weekend. Reviews for “Don’t Worry Darling” weren’t too enthusiastic either (it has a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), but that didn’t matter to fans of Styles, who turned out in force over the weekend. Surprising no one, 66% of ticket buyers were female, while nearly 70% were between the ages of 18 to 34. Audience members under the age of 18, which accounted for 16% of crowds, were especially positive, giving the film an “A-” CinemaScore.
Already, the box office results for “Don’t Worry Darling” appear to be front-loaded. Friday’s grosses (which were inclusive of Thursday previews and a special Imax screening on Monday) accounted for $9.5 million, a good portion of initial weekend sales. Based on opening day, box office experts believed “Don’t Worry Darling” would earn $21 million or $22 million by Sunday. But the movie withstood a bigger-than-expected drop on Saturday ($5.8 million) and Sunday ($3.8 million), causing Warner Bros. to revise projections down to $19 million.
“We’re enormously proud of this film and are pleased with these results given our modest production budget,” the studio said on Sunday in a note to press.
Another bright spot on domestic box office charts: Disney’s re-release of “Avatar” racked up $10 million from just 1,860 locations, most of them Imax venues. It’s a sizable result for a movie that opened 13 years ago, even if that movie happens to be the highest-grossing global release in history.
Overseas, “Avatar” drummed up a huge $20.5 million from 50 international territories over the weekend, bringing the re-release’s worldwide weekend total to $30.5 million.
Given the remastered version of “Avatar” returned to theaters on a random weekend in September without too much promotion, box office watchers are encouraged for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” director James Cameron’s decade-in-the-making, mega-budgeted sequel that’s due in theaters in December.
“Avatar” placed third on box office charts behind Sony’s “The Woman King,” a historical action epic starring Viola Davis. The film generated a mighty $11.14 million from 3,765 cinemas in its sophomore outing, declining only 40% from its opening weekend. To date, “The Woman King” has grossed $36.2 million domestically and $1.3 million internationally.
In fourth place, the Airbnb thriller “Barbarian,” from Disney and 20th Century Studios, added $4.8 million in its third outing. The film, lauded for its loony twists and turns, has been holding exceptionally well for a low-budget horror release; ticket sales fell only 26% from last weekend. “Barbarian” has generated $28.4 million so far.
Two films — Searchlight’s “See How They Run” and A24’s “Pearl” — tied for fifth place, based on Sunday’s estimates of $1.9 million for each film. “See How They Run,” which is playing in 2,502 theaters, has earned $6.1 million after two weeks of release. “Pearl,” which is screening in 2,982 venues, has amassed $6.65 million after two weeks of release. Monday’s results will determine the official order on domestic charts.
At No. 7, “Bullet Train” stayed strong, earning $1.8 million from 1,907 cinemas in its eighth weekend of release and bringing domestic ticket sales to $99.2 million. Overseas, the Sony Pictures film has earned $131.1 million to date, boosting its global tally to $230 million.