Source: Courtesy / Sony Pictures
The Woman King reigns supreme at the box office. The film, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, took in $19 million over the weekend.
The Sony-distributed film starring Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis as General Nanisca, the leader of an African army of powerful Black women called the Agojie whose life mission is to protect the 18th-century African kingdom of Dahomey.
The film is loosely based on historical facts, including the practice of kingdoms like Dahomey selling Africans and captured combatants into slavery. That became the subject of intense debate over the weekend with some people who decided to do their Google searches about the Black women warriors and the kingdom the film’s story was based on, calling for a boycott of the film.
If they went to the theaters to see The Woman King, they would have learned the film’s plot does revolve around that complex subject, but that is a whole other argument for another day.
The numbers also prove the #BoycottTheWomanKing fell on deaf ears because people flocked to theaters to see it.
Before the fantastic news about the film’s box office performance, Davis did express some worry to the Associated Free Press that if her Black-women-led film underperformed, it could lead to studios not being receptive to other future projects featuring Black-women-led casts and directors.
The Woman King Exceeded Expectations
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case with The Woman King exceeding initial analyst expectations thanks to exceptional reviews and word-of-mouth reactions being primarily positive.
The Woman King easily edged out its closest competition. The horror film The Barbarian took in $6.3 million, earning the second spot, and Pearl, the A24 slasher, hauled in over $3.1 million, which came in third.
Along with Davis, the film features a stellar cast consisting of Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, and more.
The Woman King is now playing in theaters.
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Photo: Courtesy / Sony Pictures
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