Lee Isaac Chung-directed 'Twisters' blows its way to top of U.S. box office

Golden Globe-winning director Lee Isaac Chung’s latest disaster film “Twisters” topped the U.S. box office during the first weekend of its release, earning the biggest opening gross for a natural disaster film, its distributor said Monday.

A scene from upcoming natural disaster film ″Twisters″ [WARNER BROS. KOREA]

Golden Globe-winning director Lee Isaac Chung’s latest disaster film “Twisters” topped the U.S. box office during the first weekend of its release, earning the biggest opening gross for a natural disaster film, its local distributor Warner Bros. Korea said Monday.

The film premiered on July 19 in North America in 4,151 theaters and collected over $80 million as of Sunday since its release, according to Box Office Mojo, the distributor said.

The record surpassed the previously crowned natural disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow” in 2004, which garnered around $69 million over the same period.

“Twisters” also had the third-best opening weekend for a film this year, following “Inside Out 2” and “Dune: Part Two.”

“Twisters,” a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster film “Twister,” centers around a social media storm chaser and a meteorologist who face multiple tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Directed by Chung, the film features Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos.

The film received a 92 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as of Monday, while it scored 78 percent among critics.

“Twisters” will be released on Aug. 14 in Korea.

Director Chung’s previous film “Minari” (2020), starring actors Youn Yuh-jung, Steven Yeun and Han Ye-ri received multiple awards, including Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Golden Globe Awards and Youn taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]