Asteroid City Gave Wes Anderson The Biggest Box Office Weekend Of His Career

“Asteroid City” takes place in 1955 as a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. It’s headlined by the likes of Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks. Anderson, whose credits include “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Moonrise Kingdom,” has had a remarkably enduring career despite, generally speaking, not having huge breakout hits at the box office, save for “Grand Budapest Hotel” ($163.5 million worldwide/$31 million budget).

Yet, Anderson has had consistent appeal and his films tend to have staying power. The appeal of his good name is welcome right now, as the industry is desperately trying to find a path forward in the aftermath of the pandemic. The streaming business is in flux, even big franchise films aren’t doing business as expected right now (with inflated budgets not helping matters), and original movies have a near-impossible time outside of streaming. A24’s “Everything Everywhere All At Once” was very much the exception and not the rule.

That being the case, the success Anderson is enjoying right now in the midst of an overly-crowded summer movie season is a welcome surprise. It offers hope that mid-budget, theatrical originals absolutely still have a future.

“Asteroid City” is in theaters now.