'Cocaine Bear' wins box office with $23M in opening weekend

R-rated Horror-comedy Cocaine Bear exceeded box office projections, earning an impressive $23 million from 3,534 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

The macabre animal adventure landed in second place on domestic charts behind Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which all but tanked in its second run.

Although animal movies don’t usually generate high earnings, Universal’s Cocaine Bear is proof that moviegoers like to watch people get swallowed up by bears, as the Elizabeth Banks-directed filmed opened to $23M.

The movie which was budgeted at more or less $35 million is another win for Universal following its killer-doll movie M3GAN, reports Variety.

“It’s an outrageous comedy that absolutely delivers on its premise,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “People were ready to see something over the top.”

Inspired by a true story Cocaine Bear follows a 500-pound black bear after it consumes a large amount of cocaine and runs amok, taking out cops, criminals, tourists and hikers.

“Audiences tend to be tough after being grossed-out,” says David A Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. However, he added : “Horror comedies benefit from the outrageous, and this story of an accidentally cocaine-crazed bear is wacko.”