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 disputes involving such issues as Pugh's allegedly strained relationship with Wilde and whether Styles might have spit on co-star Chris Pine at the film's Venice Film Festival premiere. The movie, too, was torched by critics (38% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), the AP reports, and arrived in theaters 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 theaters, 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. One studio executive said the publicity didn't hurt or help the film, while a Comscore analyst said Don't Worry Darling benefited from "the heightened awareness and mainstream press coverage."
Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- Don't Worry Darling, $19.2 million.
- The Woman King, $11.1 million.
- Avatar, $10 million.
- Barbarian, $4.8 million.
- Pearl, $1.9 million.
- See How They Run, $1.9 million.
- Bullet Train, $1.8 million.
- DC League of Super Pets, $1.8 million.
- Top Gun: Maverick, $1.6 million.
- Minions: The Rise of Gru, $1 million.
(More
box office stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
