Nia DaCosta accomplished a major career milestone when her supernatural slasher flick Candyman bowed at number one in theaters over the weekend — she became the first Black woman to debut a film at number one at the domestic box office with a $22.4 million opening.
Deadline reports that DaCosta, who directed the “spiritual sequel” of the first Candyman movie, which came out in 1992, also grossed the second-highest opening over a three-day period for a Black female director. Ava DuVernay‘s 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time holds the top honor, with a $33.1 million opening weekend.
DaCosta, 31, co-wrote Candyman alongside Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld. The 2021 reboot is the first in the horror franchise’s nearly 30-year history to feature an all-Black main cast. Candyman is the second film DaCosta’s directed, behind her 2018 debut, Little Woods.
Now, DaCosta is onto her next big project — the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, which is due out November 11, 2022.
Candyman — which stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris and Colman Domingo — is in theaters now.
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