‘Sully’ lands with $35.5 million at box office

“Sully” stars Hanks as Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the career pilot who successfully landed a damaged U.S. Airways jet in the Hudson River after it hit a flock of geese following takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. “It proves that going to the movies is not just a youth-driven habit”.

According to comScore’s PostTrak audience survey, 39% turned out because of Hanks. “If Tom Hanks ran for president, he’d win”, Dergarabedian says.

“We’re so proud of Clint Eastwood and the performances in this movie”, said Warners domestic distribution chief Jeff Goldstein.

After “American Sniper”, Clint Eastwood is back with “The miracle on the Hudson”.

Goldstein was also struck by how well the film, despite its NY story, played in all areas of North America. Village Roadshow Pictures is a co-producer and co-financer with Warner Bros. It’s the first-ever to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras.

With so many films saying they’re based on a true story, we undoubtedly left out a few favorites.

“Both statistics are uncommonly strong”, Dergarabedian said. Add to that, this is the first time since 2009’s Angels & Demons that Tom Hanks has starred in a live-action film that opened #1 at the box office.

Sully opened in theaters on Friday, September 9.

Note: Numbers include Sunday estimates and are three-day estimates.

Final figures are expected Monday.

Critically, the film has been well-received, with an 83% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 76/100 on Metacritic.

Fourth place went to Suicide Squad starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as criminals hired to carry out secret missions.

Rounding out the top five is another newcomer “The Wild Life”. It did best in English-speaking Australia ($2.3 million). “The Age of Shadows (Mil Jeong)”, $16 million. 3. It collected a muted $15 million. Playtone is in negotiations with Film Nation to finance “Greyhound”, which has a budget in the United States dollars 35 million range.

This sounds like exactly the sort of role Hanks gravitates towards, and while it’s far from confirmed at this stage, the movie seems to be moving along already as it’s secured a budget of $35 million.