Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis’ film The Woman King, which received the coveted A+ CinemaScore from viewers, dominated the US box office with an opening of $19 million or more. The performance of Woman King exceeded expectations (while Sony had predicted only $12 million, tracking had predicted it would debut with $15 million to $18 million). It made $6.85 million on Friday, including $1.7 million from Thursday previews.
The historical epic, produced by Sony’s TriStar division and eOne, is helmed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and is based on a story by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens about the Agojie, an all-female army who fought in the West African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The movie had a female and older slant in viewing terms. According to exit polling company PostTrak, women made up 58 percent of all ticket purchasers. The majority of moviegoers were black (56%) followed by white (23%) Latinos (15%) and Asian or other identifying moviegoers (4%). (6 percent). On September 9, the movie had its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, to raving reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, it now has a 93 percent critics’ approval rating.
Production of Woman King is said to have cost $50 million, excluding costs for marketing and distribution.Along with Thuso Mbedu, the cast also includes John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and Hero Fiennes.