After fourteen months in the doldrums where big opening weekend numbers have been viewed as an aberration, the theatrical industry is poised for its most resurgent frame in a long time, with John Krasinski’s horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II leading the charge.
The second installment in the series posted a huge opening day of more than $19 million, and it’s now set to blow past Godzilla vs. Kong‘s pandemic-era record by debuting to an estimated $47 million over the weekend, and $57 million for the four-day holiday period. To put that into perspective, that’s almost as high as A Quiet Place‘s $50 million bow, which obviously didn’t have COVID-19 to deal with, so it’s a massive win for cinemas whatever way you look at it.
It also helps that Part II has been drawing strong reviews across the board, and it’s currently sitting on an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%, which is another major victory when direct follow-ups to acclaimed horrors are notoriously difficult to pull off. One of the movie’s fans certainly knows a thing or two about the genre himself, and Krasinski was speechless when The Exorcist director William Friedkin took to social media and praised the film, as you can see below.
No words. Just no words. Thank you sir. https://t.co/iLcv3ftyCv
— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) May 29, 2021
The Academy Award winning filmmaker behind The French Connection was suitably impressed by Krasinski’s return to the world of nerve-shredding tension and atmosphere, as are audiences around the country if the early figures are any indication. Indeed, summer season is almost back in full swing, and let’s hope that a bumper beginning for A Quiet Place Part II opens the floodgates for people to return to their local multiplexes in huge numbers to give business the jump start it needs.