Don’t Worry Darling, a well-known drama from Warner Bros., had a respectable $19.2 million domestic debut from 4,114 locations to take the weekend. On Saturday, the picture did worse than projected, which is concerning for how long it will be entertaining.
Don’t worry if you’re abroad Darling earned $10.8 million from more than 60 markets for a $30 million worldwide debut.
Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde, was the most talked-about entry at the Venice Film Festival due to a series of scandals, including claims that Wilde and the lead actress Florence Pugh were at odds. Pugh praised the cast and crew in a moving Instagram post on Friday that included pictures, including one with Wilde.
Don’t Stress Audiences gave Darling a poor B- CinemaScore (Wilde’s last movie, Booksmart, scored a B+). Word of mouth can hurt the B- grade. Similar to mediocre reviews Rotten Tomatoes now rates Wilde’s second directorial attempt at 35%, which lowers its chances of winning an award and makes it more difficult to draw older individuals who are known for reading reviews before making moviegoing decisions. (Hollywood insiders doubt that the average moviegoer is interested in the off-screen drama.)
A $17 million opening weekend was expected, according to tracking and Warner Bros. However, exhibitors predicted the movie would debut to between $20 million and $24 million based on advance ticket sales (some thought even higher). The good news is that Don’t Worry Darling only cost $35 million to produce.
They seem to be correct. The majority of Friday’s crowd, at 72 percent, was female, while 67 percent of ticket buyers were between the ages of 18 and 34. The film ended up being front-loaded. The $9.4 million total official revenue on Friday includes $3.1 million from Thursday previews and special Imax showings on Monday. Most observers estimate the opening amount to be $21 million based on figures from Friday.
