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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

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.