Kirsten Dunst movie Civil War declares victory at North American box office

The film earned US$25.7 million (S$34.9 million) in ticket sales in North America in its opening weekend. 

Alex Garland’s provocative Civil War didn’t only ignite the discourse. The film also inspired audiences to go to the cinemas this weekend where it surpassed expectations and earned US$25.7 million in ticket sales in North America, according to studio estimates on Sunday (Apr 14).

It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Iron Claw. Civil War also unseated Godzilla x Kong from its perch atop the box office. The titan movie from Warner Bros had held the No 1 spot for the past two weekends.

Civil War stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny as front-line journalists in a near future covering a devastating conflict in the US and trying to make their way to Washington, DC. The story, written by Garland, who is also the mind behind Ex Machina and Annihilation, imagines a US in which California and Texas have united against a president who has disbanded the FBI and given himself a third term.

Though entirely fictional, Civil War has been inspiring debates since the first trailer that have extended beyond the musings of film critics and traditional reviews. This weekend, The New York Times ran two opinion pieces related to the movie. There were also pieces on CNN and Politico.

Going into the weekend, projections pegged the film to debut in the US$15 million to US$24 million range. The film opened on 3,838 screens in the US and Canada, including IMAX. It’s the most expensive movie that the studio has ever made, with a production budget of US$50 million, which does not account for millions spent on marketing and promotion.

Before Civil War, A24’s biggest debut was the Ari Aster horror Hereditary, which opened to US$13.6 million in 2018. A24 doesn’t always open films nationwide out of the gates. The studio said Civil War overperformed in markets “from LA to El Paso”.