‘Crazy Rich Asians’ dominates weekend box office
Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated “Crazy Rich Asians” dominated the box office this past weekend, making history for AsianAmerican representation and becoming the highestopening romantic comedy since 2015’s “Trainwreck.”
The first contemporary English-language Hollywood film with an all-asian cast since
“The Joy Luck Club” 25 years ago, “Crazy Rich Asians” grossed $26.5 million over the weekend and a cumulative $35.3 million since its opening Wednesday, according to figures from measurement firm Comscore. Analysts predicted that the film would collect $29 million through Sunday.
“It’s a well-made movie, and it’s tapped into the zeitgeist culturally as an important touchstone across the domestic marketplace,” said Jeff Goldstein, the studio’s distribution chief.
According to Goldstein, 38 percent of audience members over the weekend were Asian, 41 percent were white, 11 percent were Latino and 6 percent were black. “We started on Wednesday with a 44 percent share for the Asian audience,” he said, which represents a rare trend. “The shift illustrates the broadening of the movie, which will continue as time progresses.”
The movie appeals to everyone, he said: “I think it just looks like fun. The people are handsome and pretty and the locations are exotic. It looks like a nice diversion from life.”
The romantic comedy, which cost $30 million to produce, is based on the best-selling novel by Kevin Kwan about a ChineseAmerican woman who learns her boyfriend is from one of Singapore’s wealthiest families. Starring Constance Wu, “Crazy Rich Asians” was shot in Malaysia and Singapore and will be released in international markets, including most Asian countries, in the coming weeks.
“The Joy Luck Club,” which broke ground in 1993 as the first major studio movie to depict Asian-american contemporary life, earned $32.9 million — $57 million adjusted for inflation — over the course of its entire run. “Crazy Rich Asians” is on track to surpass that by next weekend.
Now in its second week, “The Meg” dropped one spot to No. 2, earning $21.2 million over the weekend for a cumulative $83.8 million. “Mile 22” debuted at No. 3 with $13.7 million. In fourth place, “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” added $10.8 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $181 million. “Alpha” opened at No. 5 with $10.4 million.