Peele's new movie, "Us," raked in $7.4 million in Thursday night previews . That's more than other recent horror hits, "The Nun" and "A Quiet Place," which made $5.4 million and $4.3 million in Thursday previews last year, respectively. It's also close to the Thursday preview gross of last year's "Halloween," which made $8 million and $77.5 million in its opening weekend.
It's well ahead of "Get Out," too, which made just $1.8 million in Thursday previews and went on to make $33 million in its opening weekend. "The Nun" grossed $54 million in its debut weekend, and "A Quiet Place" made $50 million.
BoxOffice.com is projecting the movie to open with $54 million, but acknowledged that it could hit $65 million.
"The absence of a horror title appealing to a variety of audiences since last October creates a wide open market for this to break out over the weekend," BoxOffice.com analyst Shawn Robbins wrote.
That would make it one of the biggest horror debuts since the blockbuster "It" in 2017. "It" holds the record for the biggest horror opening of all time with $123 million.
"Us," which stars "Black Panther" stars Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke, has received glowing reviews and has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio said it's "fast-paced, gory, and once more shows the writing talents of Peele."
Earlier this year, Universal Pictures moved the release date for "Us" back a week, positioning it further away from "Captain Marvel" for a bigger debut.
"'Us' could similarly capture cultural intrigue as Jordan Peele's follow-up to 'Get Out,'" Robbins told Business Insider in January. "If audiences respond well to both films, they'll be able to co-exist and dominate the box office in March."
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