A Quiet Place Part II's strong debut is a 'giant leap forward' for Hollywood

The summer movie season is back.

John Krasinski's A Quiet Place Part II is projected to gross a strong $58.5 million domestically in its four-day opening weekend, including $48.4 million over three days, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's the best domestic opening of the COVID-19 pandemic, beating Godzilla vs. Kong's $48 million five-day debut. Despite the pandemic, the horror sequel will make about as much in its debut as the original A Quiet Place, which opened with $50 million domestically in 2018.

Originally scheduled to be released in March 2020 but delayed because of the pandemic, A Quiet Place Part II was seen as a major test of how ready audiences are to return to theaters for the summer movie season, so its success was a highly positive sign for the industry. Disney's Cruella, which was released both in theaters and on Disney+ for $30, is also faring well and is projected to take in $26.5 million over four days. The grosses for both films were especially impressive considering, the Reporter notes, almost 30 percent of theaters in North America remain closed.

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Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told CNN that "these numbers reflect a palpable sense of elation that the big screen is indeed coming back," while analyst Shawn Robbins told the Reporter, "This is a giant leap forward from where the industry has been throughout the past year, and a table-setting weekend for what sustained recovery will look like throughout summer and beyond."

Now, the summer movie season is set to continue with some highly-anticipated tentpoles finally debuting in the coming months, including F9 and Black Widow. In a sign of how dramatically the pandemic changed the industry over the past year, though, Black Widow will be available on Disney+ the same day it hits theaters — and A Quiet Place Part II will already be streaming on Paramount+ by July 12.