Paramount Pictures was hoping to make some noise at the box office, but this had to be entirely unexpected. After a year-long delay, A Quiet Place Part II (read our review) kicked off the summer movie season with a whopping $58 million opening over the 4-day holiday ($48.38M over the weekend), nearly matching the first film’s $50M opening that propelled it to a monstrous $340M global total. International numbers were not available as of this writing.

While the pandemic throws the sequel’s worldwide total into question, these numbers are extremely impressive, and show not only the strength of the box office, but also the franchise and the horror genre in general.

In the John Krasinski-directed sequel, “Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.”

Disney’s live-action Cruella (read our review) also barked up an impressive estimated $25M over the 4-day holiday weekend, while also available for $29.99 PVOD through the Disney+ streaming service.

“Cruella, which is set in 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, follows a young grifter named Estella (Emma Stone), a clever and creative girl determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute, played by two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.”