Box Office: ‘Twisters’ Hopes to Whip Up Category 5 Storm in U.S. Debut

Universal Pictures hopes to whip up a Category 5 story at the box office this weekend as Twisters hits the big screen nearly three decades after the original Twister blew away audiences with nearly $500 million in global ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation.

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The studio has never tried to bill Twisters as a direct sequel to the first film, but rather as a new chapter in the story of obsessive storm chasers who want to harness science to better understand these forces of nature. The disaster action-adventure stars man-of-the-moment Glen Powell opposite Daisy Edgar-Rogers and Anthony Ramos.

Minari ‘s Lee Isaac Chung directed the $155 million movie, which could open anywhere from $40 million to $50 million domestically, according to tracking services (based on advance ticket sales, some exhibitors have it higher).

Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Carter, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her college years who now studies storm patterns on screens safely in New York City. She is lured back to the open plains by a friend (Ramos) to test a groundbreaking new tracking system. There, she crosses paths with a charming and reckless social-media superstar (Powell) who thrives on posting his storm-chasing adventures with his raucous crew.

Twisters is from Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Amblin Entertainment. Universal is handling domestic distribution duties, while Warners International has overseas. The pic opened in its first raft of foreign markets last weekend, taking in $11 million.

The studio partners orchestrated an aggressive campaign that included a spots on the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, the Euro Cup and the finales of high-profile shows such as Saturday Night Live , The Voice and The Masked Singer .

Hoping to appeal to America’s heartland — and especially areas impacted by tornadoes — Universal placed spots on NASCAR, the UFC, the Olympic Trials and All Elite Wrestling. There was a “weather” category presented on Jeopardy! by Powell and Edgar-Jones. Additionally, the film’s cast undertook a cross-country promotional tour with stops in Dallas, Chicago and Miami while special screenings were held in Oklahoma and dedicated military screenings were held across the country.

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And, tied to the launch of the second trailer, singer-songwriter Luke Combs announced his next single “Aint No Love in Oklahoma” would be released on May 16 as the lead single off Twisters The Album .

Tracking for Twisters indicates interest across all age, gender and ethnic groups, especially among females who are ages 25 and older.

Elsewhere at the weekend box office, Neon’s creepy thriller Longlegs , starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, hopes to continue to impress in its sophomore outing after scaring up a record $22.4 million launch last weekend, the best R-rated opening of the year to date and the first indie movie in two decades to open to $20 million or more. It is also the best wide opening ever for the Oscar-winning Neon, home of best picture Parasite . Directed by Oz Perkins, Longlegs could do $12 million to $13 million.

Illumination and Universal’s Despicable Me 4 and Pixar’s billion-dollar blockbuster Inside Out 2 should also stay high up on the chart. Inside Out 2 is on its way to becoming the top-grossing animated film of all time at the global box office after crossing up The Super Mario Bros. ($1.362 billion) on Tuesday with $1.371 billion in worldwide ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation. It is also now ranks No. 16 on the list of the top-grossing films of all time.

Twisters has one week to itself in terms of new offerings until Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine debuts next weekend.

July 17, 9:55 a.m. : Updated with budget information for Twisters , and Inside Out 2 .

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