Asteroid City, the latest film by acclaimed director Wes Anderson, has made a significant impact at the box office, marking a major win for the filmmaker. Despite its limited release in just six domestic theaters on June 16, the movie has expanded to an impressive 1,675 screens this weekend.
Set in a small desert town that encounters an alien visitation and subsequent military quarantine, Asteroid City boasts an ensemble cast featuring notable names like Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Hong Chau, and Jeff Goldblum.
According to Variety, the projected box office earnings for Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City during the weekend amount to $8.4 million in the United States. While this figure places the film at number five overall, it falls short of competing with other big releases of the weekend such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Elemental.
Nonetheless, the weekend performance of Asteroid City stands as the highest for any Wes Anderson movie in nearly a decade, surpassing the $8.5 million domestic weekend earnings of The Grand Budapest Hotel in March 2014.
The Grand Budapest Hotel still holds the distinction of being Wes Anderson’s highest-grossing film to date. However, the impressive weekend performance of Asteroid City indicates that Anderson’s commercial prospects have remained robust over the years. This achievement also suggests that Asteroid City may make a strong impression at next year’s Academy Awards.
It is worth noting that the last Wes Anderson movie to win an Oscar was The Grand Budapest Hotel, which claimed two trophies that year. Although his subsequent stop-motion film, Isle of Dogs, received two nominations, it did not secure any wins. The French Dispatch, Anderson’s most recent release in 2021, was entirely overlooked by the Oscars that year.
While a movie’s box office performance does not directly determine its award success, original and independent films that resonate with audiences often fare well during awards season. Although Asteroid City may have a lower Rotten Tomatoes score compared to The Grand Budapest Hotel, its strong box office earnings could help bolster its overall recognition and potential award prospects.
