Candy Man, the R-rated horror movie, directed by Nia DaCosta topped the US domestic box office grossing nearly $22Million in its first three days.
This win is very significant not only because it has black excellence written all over it, but also because Nia has not had it easy in the industry.
In an article with the Guardian Nia DaCosta discussed the expectations that were placed on her because she is a woman of color creating a film, as well as some of the offensive situations she has had to deal with.
“I’ve had that conversation so many times with people where I mention something off hand about my childhood or something and they’re like: ‘Oh, they should do that [in the movie]’. And I’m like: ‘Why?’” Candyman could be seen as an ironic comment on the fact that Black artists are expected to deal with issues of Black trauma.
It is even worse for female filmmakers, DaCosta suggests: “It’s not necessarily overtly racist, but it is shocking the way people have talked to me in my position as a director.
People who work for me. Especially on a movie like this, where Jordan was the only other person of colour at the level of decision-making on the movie.
And that’s unacceptable, frankly.” She talks of crass comments about Black hair. She recalls a time she was outside waiting for her assistant one night and a (white, male) crew member jokingly asked if she was hooking to make money on the side.
“That happened to me so many times, with people who work above me, who work laterally to me, below me. In the moment, you’re just like: ‘Push on.’ You just deal with it. But in retrospect, I will never do that again.”
Fast forward to this weekend!
According to CVBJ.
The R-rated horror movie, written by Jordan Peele (Let Me Out, 2017) and directed by the filmmaker of Captain Marvel 2 (2022), Nia DaCosta (Little Woods, 2018), exceeded the expectations of the industry.
The sequel to the 1992 film, this version starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, 2018), has been well received by critics and viewers, with a 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of “B” in CinemaScore.
The concrete figures, according to Variety are of $ 22.37 million in 3,569 cinemas from the United States in its first three days of release.
Overseas, Candyman got off to a slower start, opening up in 51 international markets and bagging 5.23 million dollars for a global account of $ 27.6 million.
In other words, she killed it and we should add that she is the first black woman to ever produce a movie and have it debut at number 1!
Congrats to her, and the entire production. Are you going to see Candy Man 2? Watch the trailer below!
