Home ›› 27 Sep 2022 ›› Show Biz
After off-screen drama threatened to consume Olivia Wilde’s ‘Don’t Worry Darling,the Warner Bros. release opened No. 1 at the box office, debuting with $19.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ was engulfed by a storm of controversies that revolved around everything from Pugh’s allegedly strained relationship with Wilde to whether Styles might have even spit on co-star Chris Pine at the film’s Venice Film Festival premiere. (Styles denied it.) The movie, too, was torched by critics (38% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and arrived in theatres with more baggage than any recent release.
For an original film that cost $35 million to make, a $19.2 million launch was solid — and slightly more than the studio had forecast. A large number of moviegoers — including plenty of Styles fans — turned up to see what all the fuss was about.
But the release of ‘Don’t Worry Darling,’ playing in 4,113 theatres, was also no home run. Audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore, and ticket buyers fell off on Saturday after more promising results on Thursday and Friday. Warner Bros. said the audience was 66% female. The film added $10.8 million internationally.
Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., estimated that “the background noise had a neutral impact.” The studio, he said, was “pleased with these results given our modest production budget.”
The audience scores and tapering-off ticket sales suggest ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ may struggle to hold well in the coming weeks. But its good-enough debut means that Wilde’s film didn’t turn into the complete fiasco that some pegged it to be.
