'Candyman' Director Nia DaCosta Just Made Box Office History

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Acclaimed director Nia DaCosta cemented her place in the history books with her latest project, Candyman. The rebooted horror film, which was released on August 27th, topped the weekend box office in the U.S., making DaCosta the first Black woman director to earn this accolade.

According to Box Office Mojo, the film brought in $22 million domestically in its opening weekend—enough to take the top spot in the rankings. This not only earned the 31-year-old her history-making stat for the debut, but this was also the second-highest three-day gross box office for a Black female director, after Ava DuVernay's A Wrinkle in Time from 2018, per People.

Before even landing in theaters, Candyman generated buzz for not just being a modern telling of the 1992 original horror movie but for also having a leading cast entirely of Black people. Not only did it tap into the original story, though, but this version also told a very real story about racism and urban gentrification.

DaCosta, though, who co-wrote the script in addition to directing, felt ready to take on the project knowing she had Jordan Peele alongside her in creating the story. She told The New York Times in an interview published on August 30th, "I was really excited because Jordan Peele was co-writer and a producer — no-brainer. So, I felt really safe in the process because I'm a huge fan of his." (Win Rosenfeld also co-wrote the film with Peele and DaCosta.)

DaCosta's next directorial project is The Marvels, which will be released in 2022. Candyman is in theaters now.