‘Crazy Rich Asians’ dominates the box office, makes history for representation
LA TimesWarner Bros.’ highly-anticipated “Crazy Rich Asians” dominated the box office this weekend, making history for Asian American representation and becoming the highest-opening romantic comedy since 2015’s “Trainwreck.” The first contemporary English-language Hollywood film with an all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club” 25 years ago, “Crazy Rich Asians” earned $25.2 million over the weekend and a cumulative $34 million since its opening on Wednesday, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore. And we’re seeing already that many beyond the Asian American community are responding to that tried-and-true ‘tale as old as time’ kind of context of this film.” This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Michelle Yeoh, from left, Henry Golding and Constance Wu in a scene from the film “Crazy Rich Asians.” RELATED: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’: Why the historic Hollywood rom-com matters » The romantic comedy, which cost $30 million to produce, is based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan about a Chinese American woman who learns her boyfriend hails from one of Singapore’s wealthiest families. If you believe in the work that you’re putting out there and you get it in front of the audiences that are most primed to consume it, the results will be there.” “The Joy Luck Club,” which broke ground in 1993 as the first major studio movie to depict Asian American contemporary life, earned $32.9 million — $57 million adjusted for inflation — over the course of its entire run. “Crazy Rich Asians” earned positive reviews from audiences and critics, with an A rating on CinemaScore and a 92% “fresh” rating from review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.