‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Hits $100 Million; Director Jon M. Chu Reacts
Director Jon M. Chu is having his third good weekend in a row. His romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” topped the box office for the third week, and it surpassed the $100 million mark.
When box office projections were announced on Friday, Chu was thrilled. “Never did I think when we started this journey that we would actually hit 100+Million Dollars [sic] domestically... let alone do it in less than 20 days,” he tweeted.
The director revealed that he kept getting good news throughout Friday night. “I’ve been getting box office updates all night and it just keeps getting better,” he added Saturday morning. “Unreal. I’ve never been more happy [sic] with less sleep. Thank you to everyone who is showing up AGAIN and bringing their friends!! We could break another historical record by Monday if this keeps up.”
According to Sunday box office estimates, “Crazy Rich Asians” has earned over $110 million domestically, and $130 million worldwide in total. For the weekend of Aug. 21 to Sept. 2, it pulled in $22.2 million, only a 10 percent drop from the weekend before. That’s after the second weekend only experienced a 6 percent drop. Typically, successful movies experience something closer to a 40 percent drop in the second weekend.
“Crazy Rich Asians,” based on the novel by Kevin Kwan, follows professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), the American-born daughter of a Chinese immigrant, as her boyfriend (Henry Golding) takes her to a wedding in his home country, Singapore. It’s then that she realizes her boyfriend is filthy rich, and she is quickly accused of being a golddigger.
The movie reportedly had a $30 million production budget. It has earned back its production costs nearly four times over. In addition to box office success, “Crazy Rich Asians” has been praised for being the first American studio film in 25 years to feature a primarily Asian cast. Warner Bros. won’t let “Crazy Rich Asians” be a one hit wonder.
Kwan wrote two sequels, “China Rich Girlfriend” and “Rich People Problems,” and WB is reportedly already developing the sequel. Chu is set to return as well as screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim. Variety reports producers Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and John Penotti will come back as well.
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