‘Twisters’ Box Office: How 4DX Screenings and Midwestern Moviegoers Propelled the Sequel to Blockbuster Status
variety.comRebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Moviegoers embraced the storm this weekend, propelling “Twisters” to a blockbuster $81.25 million opening weekend.
That’s far above expectations of $50 million to $55 million and enough to score the third-biggest debut of the year behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million).
Of course, “Twisters,” a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” benefitted from nostalgia. The original adventure, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman, was hugely successful with $496 million globally (which is nearly $1 billion, adjusted for inflation) and remains a touchstone for audiences.
However, analysts point out that brand familiarity isn’t enough these days to fill seats in multiplexes. This May’s “Furosia: A Mad Max Saga,” a prequel to the acclaimed 2015 action film “Mad Max: Fury Road,” struggled to sell tickets despite great reviews, while last year’s big-budget sequels like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” fell cavernously short of expectations — and lost millions in their theatrical runs.
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