'Sense and Sensibility' Posts One of the Weekend's Best Per-Theater Averages in Official Debut

Another weekend at the box office has come and gone, and a brand-new video game adaptation stormed to victory in its opening frame. Despite facing severe backlash from critics and earning just 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, the new live-action Street Fighter movie knocked out the box office competition with an opening weekend haul of more than $50 million worldwide, with over $30 million coming from domestic ticket sales.

However, the most talked-about movie from this past box office weekend is, without doubt, the jaw-dropping documentary You Can See Everything, which critics are already running out of superlatives for, and which took home $15 million in ticket sales from just 855 theaters. But these two spotlight-stealers shouldn't distract from the promising opening haul of a quieter debutant, Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley and starring Normal People's Daisy Edgar-Jones, Outlander star Caitríona Balfe, and Pond Life's Esmé Creed-Miles as Elinor and Marianne, the Dashwood sisters.

Last month, this adaptation of Jane Austen's first-ever novel made its debut across the pond, securing $6.7 million in ticket sales from the United Kingdom so far. Several weeks later, the film opened in the U.S. and finished fifth in the box office ranks with a $7.25 million haul from 2,545 locations. This per-theater average of $2,849 was the third-highest of any film in the top eight earners this past weekend. The new adaptation will be hoping to earn a slice of the $135 million pocketed by the 1995 adaptation by Ang Lee, which starred a selection of '90s British favorites, including Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman.

What Have Critics Said About 'Sense and Sensibility'?

Will this new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility be able to live up to the box office standards set by Lee's 1995 effort? It's unlikely, but Oakley's attempt is, at least, scoring similar critical praise. For Collider, Therese Lacson awarded the movie a near-perfect 9/10, calling it "a masterpiece Austen adaptation." "Georgia Oakley's Sense and Sensibility is about to become your new favorite movie," she added, helping the film obtain its "certified fresh" status and 76% average score on Rotten Tomatoes.