Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters had a huge opening weekend at the box office.
According to Variety, the film earned $80.5 million from 4,151 North American theaters during its debut this past weekend. It was the third-biggest opening weekend of 2024.
The film, directed by Chung, is a sequel to the 1996 movie Twister. The sequel stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos who play three different storm chasers trying to survive as multiple tornadoes descend on Oklahoma.
Chung, known for his film Minari, shot Twisters in Oklahoma. According to The Hollywood Reporter, on Friday, the top theater for Twisters was in also Oklahoma. The film is doing well in places impacted by tornadoes.
Twisters was shot on 35 mm film, a decision that took a while to green light.
“I felt like [shooting on film] was a bit of a battle, and I understand [the studio’s] point of view. They want to reduce the unknown risks that exist within production, and film can often feel like an added element of the unknown. But I really love film,” Chung said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “So it basically took me working with [DP] Dan Mindel, and it also took Steven Spielberg coming on board and saying, ‘Please let him shoot on film.’ Those two factors really allowed things to open up for me, so I do credit it to them.”
Chung said he was excited to work on a sequel that didn’t play into all the old tropes of the original film.
“I did find that this script was refreshing because it felt like it was a whole new story. It felt new and contemporary and appropriate for the world today. I thought it was bold that they weren’t following a certain mold of legacy sequels,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
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