A Quiet Place Part II became the first movie of the pandemic era to surpass $100 million in U.S. ticket sales, after earning nearly $12 million to top the box office over the weekend.
Variety reports the John Krasinski-directed thriller has generated a total of $108 million at the domestic box office and another $80 million internationally. Starring Emily Blunt, the Paramount Pictures film debuted over Memorial Day with a pandemic-record $48 million, and took in an impressive $58 million in its first five days of release.
Though the $100 million mark wouldn’t be considered a notable feat prior to COVID-19, the pandemic’s effect on the movie theater business makes it an impressive achievement.
“If we jumped into a time machine and went back a year, the once-commonplace milestone of crossing $100 million dollars almost overnight became a pipe dream for the beleaguered movie theater industry,” Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian told The Hollywood Reporter.
Unlike all 2021 films from Warner Bros., which launched simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, A Quiet Place Part II had a traditional theatrical release, and won’t be available in the home via Paramount+ until 45 days after it first hit the big screen.
“This makes the stellar performance of A Quiet Place Part II even more impressive having reached this $100 million mark at a pre-pandemic pace,” Dergarabedian said. “It proves not only the power of the horror genre to draw audiences, but that the prestige and exclusivity of a theatrical-first release is undeniably without peer in terms of its ability to deliver huge financial dividends and long-term rewards.”
But perhaps the most surprising box office result of the weekend was the disappointing performance of Warner Bros.’ hugely anticipated music In The Heights. While projections had it opening in the $20 million range, the Anthony Ramos-starring film earned just $11 million, leading to speculation that its numbers were muted because its also available to stream on HBO Max. Because reviews for the film were so positive, it’s possible that word of mouth will lead to a bigger second weekend for the Jon M. Chu-directed film.
