“Candyman” director Nia DaCosta made history this weekend when her film peaked at No. 1 at the box office, grossing $ 22.3 million the first weekend.
The horror film is an important milestone for the 31-year-old filmmaker: she is the first black filmmaker to achieve this feat.
“Candyman” is a sequel to the 1992 horror classic of the same name. Written by Oscar winner Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld, the plot follows Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as an artist who settles in the Cabrini-Green neighborhood of the first film with his girlfriend. The slasher film also stars Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Vanessa Williams, Tony Todd and Virginia Madsen.
The film also exceeded expectations, according to Variety, as it was expected to earn $ 15 million in ticket sales.
The explosive weekend for “Candyman” is also the second highest-grossing weekend entry in the United States for a film directed by a black woman. Ava DuVernay ranks first for 2018’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” which grossed $ 33 million the first weekend. It was also the first film directed by a black woman to spend $ 100 million at the box office.
While DaCosta’s achievement is fair, black women are still underrepresented in the world of management. But DaCosta has a mission to change all that.
The Brooklyn native will make history again as the first black woman and the youngest director to direct a Marvel movie with “The Marvels,” the 2019 sequel to “Captain Marvel.” currently in production and will hit theaters in 2022.