Twisters Sucks Up $80 Million At The Box Office In Opening Weekend

Update 07/21/24: With Saturday's box office numbers in, "Twisters" has once again blown past estimates! It's now on track for an $80.5 million opening debut, according to Variety. If that number holds once the final count is in on Monday, it will be the third-biggest box office debut of the year, behind only "Inside Out 2" and "Dune: Part Two." 

Original article follows.

Nothing is safe from the suck zone of a tornado. It wrecks houses, it steals chickens, and now it has captured the wallets of moviegoers as well. Lee Isaac Chung's "Twisters" is off to a rip-roaring start, grossing $32.2 million on Friday (including Thursday previews) and landing an A- CinemaScore from audience exit polling. Per the Hollywood Reporter, "Twisters" is now on track for a $74.6 million opening weekend, but it wouldn't be at all surprising to see it climb higher. 

Adjusting for inflation, that's on par with the massive opening of the original 1996 movie "Twister," which grossed $41 million ($82 million in 2024 dollars) over its opening weekend. The performance of "Twisters" is especially impressive given that disaster movies are a box office gamble. Opening weekend estimates for "Twisters" were conservative, pegging it for a debut in the $50-55 million range. Its success, much like the titular tornadoes, has come without warning.

"Twisters" had a production budget of $155 million, according to Variety. This is smaller than the "almost $200 million overall budget" quoted by The Oklahoman last year, though the discrepancy could be explained by generous tax incentives for filming in the state. The 2021 Filmed in Oklahoma Act established cash rebates of up to 38% for movies produced in Oklahoma — and "Twisters" certainly earns every penny, given how many times Oklahoma is name-dropped. The movie's soundtrack (available to buy as "Twisters: The Album") includes the songs "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma," "Out of Oklahoma," and — just in case anyone was still geographically confused — "We Ain't in Kansas Any More."

"Twisters" steps away from the standard pattern of "legaquels" by keeping its connections to the 1996 movie to an absolute minimum. There are no forced, phoned-in cameos from the cast of the 1996 movie (which was led by Helen Hunt and the late Bill Paxton); just a few little homages. Wisely, the producers seem to have realized that the strength of "Twister" was its main hook — the daredevil antics of storm-chasers, and the love of extreme weather that drives them — and not the lore of the Twister Cinematic Universe. Chung says he was told, "Make 'Twisters' as though this is your film and don't worry too much about that original," and he found that "very liberating" (per Variety). 

This approach also allowed "Twisters" to let its new stars shine. This isn't Daisy Edgar-Jones' first rodeo with a bad boy, having previously starred in the acclaimed romantic drama series "Normal People" and the gleefully dark cannibal horror "Fresh." She's a master of flirty banter and pairs very well with Glen Powell, the leading man of "Twisters."

Powell has been going from strength to strength, leaping from the monster hit "Top Gun: Maverick" to surprise romcom success "Anyone But You," and now continuing his box office hot streak with "Twisters." The movie's marketing certainly knew how to make the most of Powell (i.e. shots of him getting soaked by a sudden downpour while wearing a white T-shirt). The actor's million-dollar smile was probably as much of a draw as the twisters themselves; audience demographics show a roughly even split of men and women, and couples made up 41% of opening day ticket buyers.

(If you're a recently converted Powelligan and you're interested in seeing him with an '80s mustache, be sure to check out Richard Linklater's "Everybody Wants Some!!")