Oklahoma-made action film “Twisters” has already surpassed a major box office milestone less than a week after its official theatrical release.
The highly anticipated sequel to the 1996 blockbuster “Twister,” which was also filmed in the Sooner State, has already surpassed the $100 million mark at the North American box office.
“Twisters” officially opened in theaters on July 19, playing in 4,151 theaters in North America, taking first place at the domestic box office and far exceeding expectations with an opening weekend gross of $81.2 million.
The PG-13 action vehicle continued to generate impressive business throughout the week. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, “Twisters” grossed an estimated $9.2 million on Monday, $12.6 million on Tuesday and $10 million on Wednesday.
As Collider reports, the impressive haul of more than $12 million on Discount Tuesday, when all major theater chains offer discounted tickets, propelled “Twisters” past the $100 mark.
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After six days officially in theaters, “Twisters” has grossed just over $113 million at the domestic box office.
Filmed in Oklahoma in 2023, the Legacy sequel has grossed an additional $43.5 million at the international box office, for a worldwide total of about $156.6 million as of Wednesday, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
“Twisters” cost an estimated $155 million to produce, not counting the millions used to promote the popcorn film.
How did 4DX theaters help drive the box office success of ‘Twisters’?
Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), who grew up on a farm in Arkansas near the Oklahoma border, “Twisters” is a contemporary new chapter that follows in the footsteps of the 1990s hit “Twister.” The standalone sequel introduces a new generation of storm chasers played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, breakout heartthrob Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos.
“Twisters'” domestic opening weekend is the third-biggest for 2024, behind only “Inside Out 2” with an estimated $155 million and “Dune: Part Two” with $82 million.
“Twisters” has set a new record for the best domestic opening weekend for a natural disaster film, surpassing Roland Emmerich’s “The Day After Tomorrow,” which debuted with $68.44 million in 2004, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The popularity of “Twisters” in the immersive 4DX format helped propel the film to its successful start at the box office. Variety reports that opening weekend ticket sales for “Twisters” in 4DX were approximately $2.1 million. That’s 30 percent higher than the $1.57 million of the previous record-holder for the immersive format’s opening weekend, last year’s “Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
The premium format uses 21 synchronized movements and environmental effects such as rotating wind gusts, vibration, water, lightning and aromas to give viewers a multi-sensory cinematic experience. Last weekend and this week, fans made 4DX screenings of “Twisters” go viral.
CJ 4DPLEX, which produces premium film formats and cinema technologies, confirmed Thursday that “Twisters” had set up the best domestic box office opening weekend numbers of 2024 for 4DX. The company teamed up with Chung as well as “Twisters” studios Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Amblin Entertainment to create the 4DX experience, according to a press release.
To date, Twisters has grossed more than $2.3 million from 62 4DX theaters domestically. The film boasted a per-screen average of $37,120, with a 67 percent occupancy rate, reports CJ 4DPLEX.
The Regal cinema chain grossed $2.1 million at the box office across 50 different 4DX locations, with a per-screen average of $41,903.
At the Regal Warren in Moore, the OKC-area movie theater that was grazed by an EF5 tornado in 2013 and became the top-grossing theater on the opening weekend of “Twisters,” 4DX screenings of the tempestuous blockbuster have been sold out all week.
How will ‘Twisters’ perform at the box office compared to ‘Deadpool and Wolverine?’
Deadline reports that premium and IMAX ticket sales drove 40% of domestic ticket sales on the opening weekend of “Twisters.” Problem is, Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated “Deadpool and Wolverine” is taking over all premium theaters — including 4DX auditoriums — starting Thursday night for a three-week wait.
Opening officially in theaters on Friday, “Deadpool and Wolverine” is expected to gross between $160 million and $170 million in 4,200 North American theaters, according to Variety.
The superhero sequel starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is anticipated to not only become the biggest domestic opening of the year, but also to set a new record for the biggest R-rated opening weekend in history. It is expected to break the current record held by the $132 million debut of 2016’s “Deadpool.”
“Deadpool and Wolverine” is also expected to perform heroically in international markets, with industry watchers estimating it could gross $350 million to $390 million globally through Sunday. Disney spent about $200 million to produce the film and another $100 million to promote it, Variety reports.
It remains to be seen how “Twisters” will fare with “Deadpool and Wolverine” exploding in theaters. The Associated Press reports that some analysts are optimistic, drawing comparisons to last year’s “Barbenheimer,” when the PG-13-rated “Barbie” and the R-rated “Oppenheimer” were released in theaters at the same time, with both achieving box office success.
