'Candyman' on Pace to Top Box Office With $21M Opening Weekend

Candyman is expected to top the box office in its opening weekend with a projected gross of $20.7 million.

Deadline reports the Nia DaCosta-directed horror film earned $9.1 million from 3,569 theaters on Friday, and is on pace to add another $11 million to its total by the end of the weekend. The film had a diverse turnout in theatres, with 37 percent Black, 22 percent Latino, 29 percent White and 12 percent Asian/other showing up. Meanwhile, Candyman leaned toward males at 53 percent, with close to 60 percent over the age of 25.

Produced by Jordan Peele, the Universal/MGM/Monkeypaw flick is a spiritual sequel to the 1992 slasher film of the same name directed by Bernard Rose. Premiering exclusively in theateres, Candyman stars Watchmen’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mad Men alum and WandaVision breakout Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, and more. The screenplay was penned by Peele and and DaCosta alongside Win Rosenfeld.

Like the original, the 2021 film takes us back to the Cabrini-Green Housing Projects, now torn down and gentrified into upper-class condos. But the legend and presence of Candyman still festers and thrives in some people’s memories

Candyman was originally set to hit theaters in June 2020, but was pushed back to October due to the coronavirus lockdown. Last September, Candyman received a new release date of August 2021.