After years of primarily working in the comedic realm both on and off camera, Jordan Peele has been making quite the name for himself as a horror/thriller filmmaker. He officially entered this space with 2017’s Get Out, and then returned with 2019’s Us. Now Peele’s third feature film is finally playing in theaters, and while critical reception for Nope is split, this flick is off to a good start on the commercial front.
The numbers from Nope’s Thursday night preview screenings are in, and the latest 2022 movie release pulled in $6.4 million from 3,250 theaters, as reported by Deadline. That’s not far off from the $7.4 million Us pulled in within that same timeframe, and far beyond Get Out’s $1.8 million preview haul. As far as its opening weekend goes, Nope is expected to make around $50 million, although that number may end up being smaller given its runtime and more mixed critical reception compared to Get Out and Us.
While Nope is the only movie opening in theaters this weekend, it’s certainly not lacking for competition. Early July releases Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder are still chugging along, and last week saw the release of movies like Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Where the Crawdads Sing. Throw in Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis still hanging around, and though Nope is the proverbial new kid on the block, moviegoers will have numerous options in the next few days for choosing theatrical entertainment.
We’ll let you know how much money Nope ended up making its opening weekend, but clearly plenty of people were keen to see what Jordan Peele cooked this time around. Looking back at how the movie is being critically received, CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg gave Nope 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “a big screen experience that is as clever and fun as it is arrhythmia-inducing and stunning.” And to be clear, there are more positive reviews for Nope out there than negative ones, as evidenced by its 81% Rotten Tomatoes score (at the time of this writing). That said, there are some critics out there who don’t think Nope doesn’t quite measure up to Get Out and Us, but you’ll have to see the movie for yourself to decide if you agree with that sentiment.
Set in an isolated California town, Nope follows its residents witnessing an abnormal event and trying to obtain video evidence of this “fucked-up” UFO (as Jordan Peele has described it) to show the world. Nope is Peele’s second collaboration with Daniel Kaluuya, who previously starred in Get Out, and the movie’s other cast members include Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Wrenn Schmidt and Keith David, among others. Made off a reported $68 million budget before P&A, Nope began principal photography in early June 2021 and officially wrapped at the start of December.
As we wait for more news about Nope’s box office performance and other interesting facts about the movie, keep track of what’s hitting theaters for the remainder of the year with our 2022 release schedule.
