“Twisters” was a big hit at the box office this weekend, grossing about $80.5 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend, according to market research firm ComScore.
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung, this standalone sequel to the popular 1996 film stars Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos and opened at No. 1 at the weekend box office, easily beating the film’s initial industry tally of around $50 million. It’s the biggest domestic opening for a natural disaster movie, beating “The Day After Tomorrow” ($68.44 million in 2004). “Twisters” is the third-highest domestic opening weekend of 2024 behind “Inside Out 2” ($154.2 million) and “Dune” ($82.5 million), just ahead of “Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire” ($80 million).
In “Twisters,” a potential summer blockbuster, Edgar-Jones plays a storm chaser who encountered a tornado several years ago. She seeks shelter while working as a scientist in New York City, but a friend, played by Ramos, invites her to Oklahoma to help test a new tracking system. The pair meet Powell, a thrill-seeking social media influencer who survives by posting her dangerous storm-chasing adventures online. True to the original, Powell and Edgar-Jones’ characters experience a romantic energy.
The action-adventure is sure to be a long-tail success for Donna Langley’s Universal Pictures, which has spent more than $155 million on the special-effects-heavy film.
“Let me be clear: A lot of things came together to make this a fantastic weekend,” Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution, said in a brief interview Sunday.
Disaster movies are rarely re-released, and when they do, they tend to be disappointing, but the success of “Twisters” has shattered that notion in the industry.
The weekend gross of $80.5 million is nearly double what the original “Twister” made, starring the late Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt. The first film, directed by Jan de Bont, grossed $500 million in ticket sales worldwide and became a fan favorite in reruns on the Movie Channel.
Chung’s remake was well received by critics and audiences, and is a huge hit at a tough time for cinemas still recovering from the damage caused by coronavirus shutdowns and last year’s actors’ and writers’ strike, which forced the postponement of many blockbuster releases.
The film was shown on 4,151 screens this weekend.
“Lee Isaac Chung has crafted an exhilarating, exciting story that’s perfect for watching on the big screen with immersive sound and imagery and everything you want for a theatrical experience,” Oh said. “On top of that, we have an incredibly compelling and incredible cast… who have worked incredibly hard and been tireless in promoting it. [the movie] It was crazy, the soundtrack was blaring everywhere.”
A country music soundtrack featuring artists such as Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert and Jelly Roll helped give the film a Midwestern feel.
“As you can imagine, the music has been extremely well received, and not just by country music fans,” Oh said.
The film was well received by a wide audience, but with an even split between men and women: Three-quarters of the audience was over 25, but it did better among women under 25, Oh said.
Universal also picked up “Despicable Me,” which came in second for the weekend with $28 million. The Illumination film has earned $259 million at the domestic box office since its release earlier this month. The movie, which features a reformed villain named Gru, has grossed about $575 million worldwide, according to Universal.
Disney’s Inside Out 2 continues to perform well, bringing in $12.8 million this weekend and bringing its domestic gross to nearly $600 million, while Pixar’s worldwide gross has now surpassed $1.4 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.
“Twisters” is being distributed domestically by Universal, with Warner Bros. handling international sales. Warner Bros. reported that the film grossed an estimated $27.1 million during its worldwide opening weekend, according to ComScore. The film was shown on 23,535 screens and in 76 international markets.
“Twisters” director Lee Isaac Chung.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
Director Chung grew up in rural Arkansas, where tornadoes are a daily occurrence.
He and his crew shot the summer blockbuster on Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley at the height of tornado season, fraught with logistical challenges and frequent weather delays. The team also had to deal with a Hollywood writers and actors strike that forced filming to halt with 17 days left.
“It was a very high-pressure shoot,” Chung told The Times. “It ended up being so exhausting and demanding that I’ve now given up the idea that any film is going to be a fun shoot just because it has a particular subject.”
Staff writers Josh Rottenberg and Ryan Founder contributed to this report.