If one needed to point toward a single fact that highlights a changing tide of interest in films focused on the experiences of black Americans, the success ofHidden Figuresand the celebration of both it andMoonlightwould be enough to eek out a little optimism in this particular realm. The success thus far ofJordan Peele’s celebrated horror filmGet Outat the box office, however, suggests a hugely promising trend, especially considering the movie does not feature a single marquee name.
Get Outfinished off Friday with $10.8 million, easily beating out its closest contender,The LEGO Batman Movie, and setting up a clear, direct route to winning the weekend over the animated blockbuster. Estimates putGet Outat finishing off the weekend with some $28 million in the bank against an estimated $18 million take forThe LEGO Batman Movie. In contrast, it’s barely even worth noting thatRock DogandCollide, the weekend’s two other openers, didn’t even break $1 million ($888,000 and $583,000, respectively) and are estimated to bring in $3 million or less by the end of the weekend.
One can expectFifty Shades DarkerandJohn Wick: Chapter Twoto show up in the final top five as well, rounded out byThe Great Wallor, possibly, eitherHidden FiguresorLa La Landin one last catch-up round before Sunday’s Oscars. Regardless,Get Out’s supremacy looks undeniable this weekend and though next week’s race looks to be all over already with the arrival of the box office juggernaut that will beJames Mangold’sLogan, the movie could prove to have similar legs asSplit, another galvanic, imperfect horror flick made on a modest budget.
That’s my hope for a movie that, much likeAva DuVernay’s powerful13th,Raoul Peck’s outragedI Am Not Your Negro, and the robust classicism ofHidden Figures, shines a light on an area of experience and knowledge that is often ignored in the name of keeping things safe at the movies. IfGet Outannounces anything, it’s that there is a market - one that goes far beyond the classifications of race or sex - for a movie that has the power to destabilize long-accepted, often illusory beliefs.
