Nowadays, there are very few directors, actors, and filmmakers that can guarantee a profit on an original idea, especially when the movie has an expensive budget. Not even Spielberg has been able to do that recently, even though Ready Player One may change that. However, Christopher Nolan, who filmed the Dark Knight trilogy, looks like he’s Hollywood’s hottest director. Following, the Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan has found success with Interstellar, Inception and this weekend’s Dunkirk.
The Christopher Nolan movie starring Tom Hardy managed to earn $51 million at the box office, which is nothing in comparison to Wonder Woman’s explosive box office hit, Nolan’s movies tend to do really well in the long term. For example, Inception opened with $62 million and eventually made $292 million at the box office. The same phenomenon occurred with Nolan’s Interstellar, which went from a $47 million opening to over $600 million worldwide.
Currently, Dunkirk has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- Cinemascore. As a result, word of mouth could make Nolan’s war movie a hit over the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Lee’s Girl’s Trip earned $28 million this weekend on a $20 million budget. The movie, which has an A+ Cinemascore, and an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, beat initial expectations. Ultimately, Malcolm Lee has mastered the art of making hit box office movies on relatively inexpensive budgets. Lee is the mastermind behind Best Man Holiday, which made $70 million, and Barbershop: The Next Cut. It is also a break-out movie for Tiffany Haddish, who previously worked as a background actor before landing a career changing role.
In one of the biggest box office bombs is Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The movie cost over $200 million to make and only managed to earn $16 million on its opening weekend. Mixed reviews and relatively no buzz, seemed to hurt the chances for the movie. However, a worldwide release could turn the upset into a winner, if audiences connect with the story.
Next week, Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde and T.J. Miller’s The Emoji Movie hits theaters.