Crazy Rich Asians reaches No. 1, validating the power of diversity

LOS ANGELES •Crazyrich Asians, powered by jubilant reviews and pent-up demand for a major Hollywood film led by Asian stars, took in a strong $25.2 million at North American theatres over the weekend, easily enough for No. 1.

It was the best result for a PG-13 romantic comedy in six years — since Think Like a Man, which featured an all-black primary cast and collected $33 million over its first three days. Among all non-sequel comedies, Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros.) posted the biggest turnout since the R-rated Girls Trip, which was released last summer and focused on four black women, a rarity.

“This shows — once again, with emphasis — that true diversity matters,” Brad Simpson, a Crazy Rich Asians producer, wrote in an email Sunday. “Audiences are tired of seeing the same stories with the same characters. And we have to give people a reason to get off their couch or devices. We have to give them something different.”

Crazy Rich Asians, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding in a love story complicated by dazzling wealth (his) and a treacherous mother (his), is the first Hollywood studio movie in 25 years to have an all-asian cast.

About 38 per cent of ticket buyers for Crazy Rich Asians were Asian, according to Jeff Goldstein, Warner’s president of domestic distribution. Asian moviegoers typically make up less than 10 per cent of the openingweekend audience for a film. About 68 per cent audience was female.

Crazy Rich Asians, which cost an estimated $30 million to make and tens of millions more to market, took in $34 million since arriving Wednesday.

Crazy Rich Asians was directed by Jon M. Chu and based on Kevin Kwan’s bestselling book.

For the weekend, The Meg (Warner) placed second, collecting $21.2 million, for a two-week global total of roughly $300 million, according to comscore, which compiles box-office data. Third place went to Mile 22 (Stxfilms), which took in $13.6 million, a bit below what most analysts had expected. Mile 22, which cost about $35 million to make, stars Mark Wahlberg as an elite intelligence officer. of the