Amid a flurry of headlines surrounding the film, Don't Worry Darling's box office wins the weekend in spite of all the off-screen drama. Director Olivia Wilde's follow-up to Booksmart takes a markedly different tone than her teen comedy. Don't Worry Darling follows Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, in his first starring film role, as newlyweds who move to the seemingly idyllic desert town of Victory, but something darker is lurking beneath the picturesque surface.
A number of controversies surrounding the film have emerged in recent months, starting with Wilde getting served with divorce papers while onstage at CinemaCon. From there, rumors snowballed beginning with a public back and forth between Wilde and Shia LaBeouf about whether she fired him from the film for his combative behavior, or whether he quit. Then there was the "Spitgate" controversy, which had the internet speculating whether or not Styles spat on co-star Chris Pine at the Venice International Film Festival. There have also been increasing rumors that a huge rift between Pugh and Wilde formed during filming was the reason that Pugh has largely skipped the film's promotional tour, as well as another rumor that Pugh had to take over directing parts of the film from Wilde.
For now, it seems all the controversies haven't affected Don't Worry Darling, as the film won the weekend's box office. According to Warner Bros. (via Variety), Don't Worry Darling scored $19.2 million in North America, opening in 4,113 theaters. Internationally, the film earned another $10.8 million, bringing its total weekend to $30 million and counting. The film seems to be the most popular so far with the 18-34 crowd, accounting for 70% of ticket sales, with the majority of audiences being female-driven, at 66%.
Can Don't Worry Darling Continue its Box Office Success?
Despite the scrutiny placed on Wilde's film in recent months, the box office numbers are certainly positive, though not a smash success. The publicity seems neither to have hurt the film nor to have completely helped it. Critic reviews have been largely negative for Don't Worry Darling, which sits at 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audience scores have been much more positive at 80%, which may help the film down the line if word of mouth is strong enough. With a modest budget of $35 million, it's likely going to recoup its cost, but with audience numbers dwindling significantly from Friday, where it earned $9.5 million, down to its numbers on Sunday, where it earned only $3.8 million, word of mouth will have to be particularly strong if it hopes to become a sleeper hit.
Mired in as much controversy as it has been, it's easy to understand Wilde's discomfort at the rumor-mongering that she didn't direct her own film, as well as her assertion that male directors don't usually face the same amount of scrutiny, with most news sources focusing on their craft over any potential behind-the-scenes drama. Hopefully, the film's troubles can be put to rest now after its box office success. But whether Don't Worry Darling can continue to draw in crowds long after the rumors have subsided remains to be seen.
Source: Warner Bros.