The dystopian action film Civil war defied expectations with a smash opening at the box office this weekend, grossing $25.7 million and becoming independent distributor A24’s biggest debut in history. The film, starring Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny, follows a group of journalists traveling through war-torn America, clearly inspired by the Trump presidency and the January 6 insurrection. The film was the subject of a lot of confusion on the Internet when the first trailer was released (people couldn’t get over the film’s decision to combine Texas and California), but it attracted a large audience from the west coast and south this weekend. The project also represented a big gamble for A24, with a $50 million budget making it the company’s most expensive production to date. Director Alex Garland told The Daily Beast that he was interested in how people engage in disagreements, but did not rule out the influence of current American politics. “I often focused on the tone of how something was said. I wouldn’t say the film is apolitical, and I wouldn’t say it excludes parallels,” he said.
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