Get out of here. (No, stay.)
While some celebrities might be told to stay in their lane, comedian Jordan Peele’s move to directing just keeps on paying off. It’s just been announced that Get Out, a horror film about racism in America, is officially the most profitable movie of 2017 and it’s a huge win for diversity in film.
According to The Wrap, the low-budget film had a production kitty of USD$4.5 million dollars, an advertising budget of $30 million and managed to rake in a profit of $250 million worldwide. That’s a mind-boggling 630% return on investment. Jordan Peele’s film company, Monkeypaw Productions, are probably over the moon about it.
While Get Out isn’t the highest grossing film of the year, it’s been the most positively received - starting off with a 100% certified fresh ranking on Rotten Tomatoes before plummeting down to a measly 99% rating. 2017’s biggest box office is unsurprisingly Disney’s Beauty and the Beast remake starring Emma Watson, bringing in USD$1.26 billion worldwide. However, their production budget was estimated by IMDB at $160 million and their marketing was everywhere - The Wrap estimates that they’ve made a cool 400% return on investment. (Still no Get Out though.)
While Jordan Peele and Monkeypaw haven’t officially made any announcements, the former Key and Peele star did retweet an article with the caption, ‘A film w/ a Black lead, Black writer/director AND it’s about RACE. Everything we were ever told about “what sells & what doesn’t” was a lie.’
It’s only the beginning for Jordan (who's been included in TIME's most influential list) whose company signed a two-year first-look deal with Universal Pictures. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his next untitled feature will have a budget five times bigger than Get Out.
He said of the deal, ‘I am thrilled to continue the work we started together on Get Out — pushing the boundaries of storytelling, not only on the next film but with all of Monkeypaw’s future projects.’
Hopefully he’s kickstarted a trend of smart and diverse box office hits for Universal. (We’ll be the first ones in line at the cinema.)
