A24's 'Primetime' Opens to $19.2 Million, Cementing Pattinson's Clout

A24's "Primetime" opened to $19.2 million at the domestic box office, a striking result for a film produced for just $15 million and a clear signal that Robert Pattinson can now open a picture on his name alone.

Pattinson plays a creepy version of Chris Hansen, the "To Catch a Predator" host, in the journalism drama. The premise drew an unexpectedly young crowd: 69% of the opening weekend audience was under 30. Gen Z, now the most reliable moviegoing force, turned up in droves for a film about a TV show that aired when they were children.

The performance caps a run that has repositioned Pattinson from indie darling to genuine box office draw. He became famous at 22 opposite Kristen Stewart in 2008's "Twilight," playing the brooding vampire Edward Cullen and becoming a heartthrob for a generation of moviegoers. But he seemed uneasy as a pinup. Pattinson spent his post-"Twilight" bankability on oddball roles for edgy auteurs: David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis," Claire Denis's "High Life," Robert Eggers's "The Lighthouse." Critics praised the work; audiences largely stayed away. Most of those films were more admired than seen.

The turn came when Pattinson re-embraced mainstream cinema. First came 2020's "Tenet," then 2022's "The Batman," in which he played Bruce Wayne as a billionaire in desperate need of counseling. This year alone he has appeared in "The Drama," "The Odyssey" and now "Primetime."

"Primetime" is his second big hit of the year for A24. In the spring, Pattinson and Zendaya drove the dark relationship comedy "The Drama" to $134.9 million globally against a $28 million production budget, a figure that will make the film highly profitable for the indie studio. There is something in Pattinson's intensity, and his willingness to subvert his own movie star image, that aligns neatly with A24's hip, transgressive brand.

His presence in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" belongs on a different ledger — that film's success is credited to its director — but it burnishes Pattinson's stature all the same. Two further credits will add gloss: "Dune: Part Three," opening in December, and "The Batman: Part II," which arrives in theaters in 2028.

The larger significance extends beyond one actor. For more than a decade, agents and analysts have declared the movie star dead, noting that no newcomer has replaced the drawing power of aging icons like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Pattinson's year suggests that may be changing. Like his "Dune" co-star Timothée Chalamet, he has found a way to make challenging, provocative work that general audiences embrace as readily as cinephiles do — and, as "Primetime" demonstrates, they are paying to see it in theaters.