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Lee Isaac Chung’s "Twisters" has made a spectacular entrance at the box office, with initial figures showing an astonishing domestic opening of $80.5 million in North America. This impressive sum surpasses earlier projections, which estimated the film would earn around $74.6 million.
The film, now playing in 4,151 theaters across the country, has shattered records for the highest domestic opening ever for a natural disaster movie, surpassing the previous record set by Roland Emmerich’s "The Day After Tomorrow," which earned $68.44 million in 2004. Additionally, "Twisters" has claimed the third spot for the biggest starts of the year, just behind "Inside Out 2" with $154.2 million and "Dune: Part Two" with $82.5 million, narrowly edging out "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," which opened with $80 million.
The film's impressive opening is a significant win for its cast and crew, including Hollywood rising stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Anthony Ramos, who lead the ensemble. This success is also a notable achievement for director Lee Isaac Chung, known for his acclaimed indie film "Minari." The movie’s broad appeal is evident, attracting both male and female viewers across different age groups, and generating buzz for a potential new franchise. Critics have given "Twisters" a solid 77 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have rated it much higher, with a 92 percent score, aligning with an A- from Cinemascore.
"Twisters" arrives 28 years after the original "Twister," a film that pioneered the use of visual and practical effects in natural disaster cinema. The original, starring the late Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, was a massive success, debuting with $41 million (equivalent to $82 million today) and ultimately grossing $494.5 million globally (about $992 million in today’s dollars).
Filmed in Oklahoma, often referred to as Tornado Alley, "Twisters" is resonating strongly in regions frequently affected by tornadoes. The film's production was backed by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures, with Universal handling domestic distribution and Warner Bros. managing international releases. Despite the strong domestic performance, the film’s international numbers are slightly underwhelming. It has earned $27.1 million from 76 international markets, bringing its global total to $132.2 million, against a net budget of $155 million. The film performed best in Latin America, Australia, and the UK, but had a disappointing run in China, where it earned only $1.5 million.
Before its release, tracking services had predicted a domestic opening between $40 million and $50 million. Although some distributors anticipated higher numbers, no one expected the film to surpass $70 million, let alone reach $80 million.
"Twisters" easily dominated the weekend box office in North America, delivering a substantial boost amid tough competition. Last year’s same-weekend openings of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" set a high bar with the Barbenheimer phenomenon. While "Twisters" could not match last year’s record, its success provided a much-needed boost for the weekend.
In other box office news, Universal and Illumination’s "Despicable Me 4" surpassed the $500 million mark globally. It earned an estimated $23.8 million domestically in its third week, bringing its total to $159.5 million. Internationally, the animated film added $52 million from 79 markets, pushing its worldwide haul to $574.4 million. The "Despicable Me" franchise has now crossed $5 billion in total global earnings, a historic achievement for animated films.
Pixar and Disney’s "Inside Out 2" continued to perform strongly, ranking third with an estimated $12.8 million. The film is approaching $600 million in domestic earnings and is on track to become the highest-grossing animated film ever, both in North America and worldwide. It is set to surpass "Frozen II" soon, which earned $1.451 billion globally, including $609 million domestically.
Neon’s horror hit "Longlegs" remains a favorite among audiences, earning $11.7 million in its second weekend. With a 10-day domestic total of $44.7 million and a budget under $10 million, the film continues to perform well.
On the other hand, Apple Original Films’ "Fly Me to the Moon" struggled in its second weekend. The romantic comedy dropped 65 percent to $3.3 million, bringing its 10-day domestic total to $16.4 million. Overseas, it earned an additional $3.8 million from 58 markets, totaling $30.7 million globally.
Paramount’s "A Quiet Place: Day One" rounded out the top five, earning $6.1 million in its fourth weekend. The film’s domestic total now stands at $127.6 million, with a global total of $241.4 million.
