'Hustlers' Opens With Solid $33 Million At The Box Office

“Hustlers” took the box office by storm by accumulating $33.2 million during its opening weekend, which is approximately $8 million more than its previously forecasted figures.

Beating the expectations, the film starring Jennifer Lopez even exceeded its own production budget in the first three days of its release and gave a major boost to STX Entertainment, which produced the movie. The film became STX’s biggest opening since the studio came into inception, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Talking about the success of the movie, Adam Fogelson, chairman of STX’s motion picture group, told Variety that the script was one of the things that made the movie so special.

“It was the reviews, the level of audience response and a great script from a filmmaker who had a spectacular vision. The filmmaking team was entirely made up of strong women who had a really smart artistic and entertaining eye for how to tell this story. Never for a moment do you feel it is inauthentic to the world of strip clubs and the women who work there. It is clearly not told through a male gaze,” Fogelson said.

Directed by Lorene Scafaria, the movie is based on Jessica Pressler’s 2015 New York column about a group of strippers who turned the tables on their supremely rich Wall Street clientele after the 2008 recession.

“Hustlers” has been creating a lot of buzz after its premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. The critics have labeled it as “one of the best movies made on women” and is currently “certified fresh” with 88 percent score on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The critics also shared that Lopez's performance in the movie could get her a nod in the upcoming awards season.

The movie arrived at second place behind “IT: Chapter Two,” which secured the numero uno position at the box office for the second week in a row. The sequel to the 2017 hit “IT” earned $40 million this weekend, taking its North America total to $153 million. The film continued to dominate the international markets as well after earning more than $320 million globally in just two weeks.

Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” surpassed “Inglourious Basterds” to become the second-highest grossing film in Tarantino’s career. The movie has made $329.4 million globally till now and beats “Inglourious Basterds” that made $323.4 million in 2009. Meanwhile, “Django Unchained” still remains Tarantino’s highest-grossing movie of all time with $425 million worldwide.