Lena Waithe and Melina Matsoukas closed out Thanksgiving weekend with a few more reasons to be thankful, as their highly-anticipated film Queen & Slim rounded out the top 5 at the box office in its’ opening week debut.
Written by Waithe and directed by Matsoukas, the L.A. Times reported that the film brought in an estimated $15.8 million after hitting theaters on Wednesday November 26, which included an estimated $11.7 million over the weekend alone. Given the opening week numbers, it seems the hard work certainly paid off for the dynamic film-making duo.
The pair also hosted a series of star-studded screenings across the country and even did pop up introductions at several theaters in Los Angeles just ahead of the movie’s release date, including a screening attended by none other than Matsoukas’ long-time friend and collaborator, Beyonce.
Queen & Slim stars Get Out‘s Daniele Kaluuya and ESSENCE cover girl Jodie Turner Smith, who play a couple that goes on the run following a fatal encounter with a police officer during a routine traffic stop.