‘Don’t Worry’ about drama over Wilde film

After off-screen drama threatened to consume Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” the Warner Bros. release opened No. 1 at the box office, debuting with $19.2 million (all figures U.S.) in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, “Don’t Worry Darling” was engulfed by a storm of controversies that revolved around everything from Pugh’s allegedly strained relationship with Wilde to whether Styles might have spit on co-star Chris Pine at the film’s Venice Film Festival premiere. (Styles denied it.) The movie, too, was torched by critics (38 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).

For an original film that cost $35 million to make, a $19.2million launch was solid, but it was also no home run. Ticket buyers fell off on Saturday after more promising results on Thursday and Friday.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, said that, ultimately, bad publicity was good publicity for Wilde’s followup to her directorial debut, the 2019 teen comedy “Booksmart.”

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. 1. “Don’t Worry Darling,” $19.2 million 2. “The Woman King,” $11.1 million 3. “Avatar,” $10 million 4. “Barbarian,” $4.8 million 5. “Pearl,” $1.9 million 6. “See How They Run,” $1.9 million 7. “Bullet Train,” $1.8 million 8. “DC League of Super Pets,” $1.8 million 9. “Top Gun: Maverick,” $1.6 million 10. “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” $1 million