‘Hereditary’ Breaks A24 Box Office Record for Highest Grossing Indie Release Worldwide
Zack Sharf
“Hereditary” has turned into a money-making powerhouse for A24 since opening in the beginning of June. The critically acclaimed horror film jumped past the $77 million mark at the worldwide box office on July 25, becoming the highest grossing A24 release so far around the world. “Hereditary” eclipsed the $76.8 million worldwide gross of “Lady Bird” and still has additional territories to open in, including Sweden (July 27) and Hong Kong (September 20).
Starring Toni Collette and Alex Wolff, “Hereditary” centers around a family thrown into chaos following the death of one of its members. The film, which marks the directorial debut of Ari Aster, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews and also screened at SXSW before opening June 8 in U.S. theaters. A24 opened the film nationwide, where it grossed $13.5 million on opening weekend. “Hereditary” has amassed nearly $44 million at the domestic box office, second only to “Lady Bird” ($48.9) as A24’s biggest U.S. release.
“Lady Bird” was one of the big awards players of 2017, which no doubt boosted its box office total in the U.S. Should “Hereditary” catch on with awards voters later this fall and get a second theatrical push from A24, the title shouldn’t have a problem passing “Lady Bird” to become A24’s biggest release domestically and around the world.
According to Deadline, the biggest international markets for “Hereditary” have been the U.K., where it topped “Insidious” and A24’s own “The Witch” with $7.29 million, and Mexico, passing titles like “Get Out” and earning $3 million. Other popular markets include Australia ($2.7 million), Spain ($1.90 million), and Korea ($1.46 million).
“Hereditary’s” box office success is an added win for A24 since the indie studio not only produced the movie in-house (similar to “Moonlight,” “Lady Bird,” and “Eighth Grade”) but also sold international rights itself and set release plans overseas with indie distributors. Aster’s film is the first time A24 has been involved with all of these stages, Deadline reports.
