Topline
Don’t Worry Darling, the psychological thriller from director Olivia Wilde, won the weekend domestic box office with a $19.2 million opening and the approval of fans, despite press in the lead-up to its release focusing on behind-the-scenes drama and critics delivering overall unimpressed reviews.
Florence Pugh frets in the kitchen in a scene from “Don’t Worry Darling.”
Key Facts
Don’t Worry Darling has a critics score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 233 reviews.
In contrast, the movie has a 79% audience rating from fans, based on over 500 verified ratings on the site.
While most critics found the plot to be messy, many fans were at the edge of their seats—but nearly all were in agreement about star Florence Pugh’s chilling performance.
The film was given a B-minus on CinemaScore, which measures a film’s audience popularity.
Negative attention on Don’t Worry Darling’s alleged scandals did not diminish interest in it, and the constant press about it may have actually created buzz about it.
Tangent
Reports of on-set infighting continued to spread over the weekend. Vulture reported Friday that star Florence Pugh and Wilde’s alleged feud, which has been the subject of tabloid fodder for months, reached a boiling point on set when the two got into a “screaming match.” Pugh was allegedly angry that Wilde and co-star Harry Styles, who began dating during production, would “just disappear,” a source told the outlet. In response, 40 crew members signed an open letter on Saturday saying, “Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set of Don’t Worry Darling are completely false.” One of the film’s stars, Kiki Layne, claimed on Instagram on Sunday that she and castmate Ari’el Stachel were cut “from most of the movie.” Stachel made similar complaints in a TikTok post of his own. Wilde has not responded to the claims.
Key Background
Rumors about the alleged feud between Wilde and Pugh swirled for months, before peaking weeks ago when the film premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Wilde has denied that there were any on-set issues. Actor Shia LeBouf, who was initially cast in the film, has disputed Wilde’s claims that she fired him from the movie. Attention also focused on Styles and star Chris Pine, with fans believing that Styles spit on Pine during the film’s screening in Venice. DWD is Wilde’s second time directing, after the 2019 comedy Booksmart. Its $19 million opening puts it on par with similar films A Simple Favor and A Girl On A Train, and blew past Booksmart’s nearly $7 million domestic debut.
Further Reading
The ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Feud Explained—Wilde Defends Claim She Fired LaBeouf (Forbes)
Box Office: ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ And ‘Avatar’ Both Earn $30 Million Global (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/09/26/fans-and-critics-sharply-divided-over-dont-worry-darling/