Great reviews and buzz have propelled comedian Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out to the top of the US box office.
The micro-budget thriller cost an estimated $4.5 million (£3.6 million) to make but raked in $30.5 million (£24.4 million) in its opening weekend, bumping The Lego Batman Movie into second place.
While it was expected to perform well against its budget, few people foresaw a debut this big — especially with a relatively unknown star in Daniel Kaluuya leading the film.
Jordan, who most audiences know for his sketch comedy work on the series Key & Peele, wrote and directed the film about a black man who travels upstate to meet his white girlfriend’s family.
Get Out effectively pushed The Lego Batman Movie into second place.
The animated family picture added $19 million (£15.2 million) this weekend and is now up to $133 million (£106 million) after only three weeks in cinemas.
John Wick: Chapter Two took third place while Matt Damon’s The Great Wall took fourth.
Fifty Shades Darker rounded out the top five with $7.7 million (£6.1 million), pushing the erotic drama over the $100 million (£80.1 million) mark in its third weekend.
