Movie

Despite ongoing press drama regarding director Olivia Wilde's rumored feud with her lead actress Florence Pugh, the psychological thriller opens to a solid $19.2 million domestically.

• Sep 26, 2022

AceShowbiz - "Don't Worry Darling" has one less thing to worry about following its first week of release in the United States. The movie proves that it has managed to survive ongoing drama and negative reviews as it opens atop the North American box office with a solid $19.2 million.

Overseas, the second directorial feature film by Olivia Wilde took in $10.8 million from more than 60 markets for a global start of $30 million. The movie reportedly only cost around $35 million to produce.

Starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as a couple living in a utopian community called Victory, the psychological thriller was plagued with negative headlines about Wilde's rumored feud with her lead actress Pugh. Most recently, Wilde was supported by more than 40 crew members and executives at Warner Bros., who praised her work on the movie, after it was reported that she and Pugh got in a "screaming match" on the set.

Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros., estimates that "the background noise had a neutral impact." He says the studio was "pleased with these results given our modest production budget."

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, chimes in, "The latest from Olivia Wilde benefited from the heightened awareness and mainstream press coverage that made 'Don't Worry Darling' the virtual water-cooler film of the moment and raised its FOMO factor to even greater heights, and this paid big dividends at the box office."

But the press drama wasn't the only thing that has been plaguing "Don't Worry Darling". The movie has been bashed by critics, holding an approval rating of 35% based on 231 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences polled by CinemaScore, meanwhile, gave the film an average grade of B- on an A+ to F scale.

Elsewhere on the domestic chart, "Avatar (Re-release)" debuts at No. 3 with approximately $10 million. The top-earning film of all time makes it return to theaters to drum up the release of its sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water" in December.

Last week's champion "The Woman King" is dethroned and falls to No. 2 with an estimated $11.1 million. "Barbarian" falls two spots to No. 4 with approximately $4.8 million, while "Pearl" also drops two places to No. 5 with an estimated $1.9 million.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Sep. 23-25, 2022):

1. "Don't Worry Darling" - $19.2 million
2. "The Woman King" - $11 million
3. "Avatar (Re-release)" - $10 million
4. "Barbarian" - $4.8 million
5. "Pearl" - $1.91 million
6. "See How They Run" - $1.9 million
7. "Bullet Train" - $1.8 million
8. "DC League of Super-Pets" - $1.76 million
9. "Top Gun: Maverick" - $1.6 million
10. "Minions: The Rise of Gru" - $1 million