Nia DaCosta’s follow-up to the early ’90s slasher picture Candyman scored a delicious $22 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. This number surpassed expectations, according to the Hollywood Reporter, considering the spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant and bad weather in advance of Hurricane Ida.
It did not fare as well overseas, with only $5.2 million collected in international markets, bringing the total to $27.6 million.
The new Candyman is, as critic Matt Singer has coined the term, a legacyquel to the original and stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, and Colman Domingo. Tony Todd, Vanessa Williams, and Virginia Madsen also make appearances, reprising original roles. The film was produced by Jordan Peele under his Monkeypaw shingle. Peele and his frequent collaborator Win Rosenfeld co-wrote the screenplay with DaCosta.
DaCosta’s next project will be with Disney, where she will helm The Marvels (originally Captain Marvel 2), reuniting her with Teyonah Parris, who plays Monica Rambeau.
Cinemascore, which polls exiting audience members on opening night, graded Candyman a B. It’s got an 85 percent fresh on the up-or-down Rotten Tomatoes and a 72 at Metacritic.
The silver medal this week went to Free Guy, the brain-in-a-vat-meets-video-games action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds. Its three-week domestic haul totals $78 million. Kiddie pic PAW Patrol came in third place in its second week, with $6.6 million added to its $24 million total.
Neither Candyman nor Free Guy is currently available on streaming platforms. PAW Patrol is available to subscribers of Paramount+.
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