Many moviegoers had a seat for “Primetime,” a crime thriller starring Robert Pattinson as Dateline NBC reporter and “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen.
The A24 film hit the upper end of box office expectations, raking in $19.2 million from 2,863 North American theaters in its opening weekend. Although “Primetime” ranked fourth on the domestic charts — behind Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame Encore” ($26 million), Sony’s reboot of “Resident Evil” ($23 million) and its newcomer, Paramount’s wild adventure “Heart of the Beast” ($20 million) — its production cost just $15 million and is already well-positioned to turn a profit theatrically.
Notably, “Primetime” marks the third-best opening weekend in A24 history, behind this summer’s hit “Backrooms” ($81.4 million) and Alex Garland’s 2024 dystopian “Civil War” ($25.5 million) and, impressively, above Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet’s 2025 ping-pong drama “Marty Supreme.” ($15.7 million). It’s Pattinson’s second straight hit with A24 following this spring’s dark relationship comedy-drama, “The Drama,” which starred Zendaya and opened to $14.3 million domestically.
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, “Primetime” centers around the production of “To Catch a Predator” and Hansen’s increasingly frantic attempts to confront child sexual predators in complex undercover operations. Critics have embraced the film, which holds an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Movie fans gave “Primetime” a mixed “B” grade in CinemaScore exit polls, which isn’t all that surprising given the film’s intentionally disturbing nature.
“Considering the difficult subject matter, the audience score is good,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the FranchiseRe box office newsletter. “It’s a success.”
Here are five reasons why “Primetime” was poised for prime time at the box office.
Robert Pattinson’s Star Power
It’s been a big year for Pattinson, the “Twilight” heartthrob turned movie star. In 2026, he starred in “The Drama,” Christopher Nolan’s summer hit “The Odyssey,” and will appear in the upcoming sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part III.” Although he shares credit for these wins with Zendaya and Nolan, Pattinson is undeniably the draw of “Primetime.” More than 75 percent of the public cited Pattinson as the No. 1 reason to buy a ticket, according to PostTrak exit polls. What’s more impressive is that Pattinson managed to attract people to the movies without Also splashy press tour. (In addition to starring in almost every movie this year, he’s been busy filming “The Batman: Part II” in London.) He hasn’t been climbing the Sphere in Las Vegas or doing airship commercials to publicize “Primetime.” Pattinson appeared at the Venice Film Festival, where “Primetime” bowed to praise and participated in a few phone interviews. But otherwise, he let the film do the talking.
Generation Z, get together!
‘Primetime’ Opening Weekend Crowds Are Skewed strongly Generation Z, with 69% of the public under the age of 30. This is particularly significant because most Zoomers were far too young to watch “To Catch a Predator” when the show aired between 2004 and 2007. This helped “Primetime” tap into their love of the true crime genre. It also highlights the audience that A24 has cultivated over the years, through edgy, aesthetic and conversation-starting arthouse films like “Marty Supreme,” “Lady Bird,” “Everywhere All at Once” and more. “Primetime” is the second release of the year from the independent studio to become a full-fledged event for young movie fans. The first was “Backrooms,” which became a hugely profitable sensation grossing $400 million against a budget of $10 million. This is a huge relief for cinema owners, who feared that younger generations would view the big screen as outdated.
Pattinson, meanwhile, could attribute the victory to Gen Z supporting his. Pattinson joked that he was Gen Z (although he’s 40, which makes him a millennial). During Vanity Fair’s Lie Detector test, his “Die My Love” co-star Jennifer Lawrence hilariously accused Pattinson of thinking he’s Gen Z because he likes to cold call people on FaceTime. He claimed that her year of birth “doesn’t matter”, to which she replied: “I think you believe You are Generation Z.”
Chris Hansen’s marketing blitz
A24 ran an effective social media campaign for “Primetime.” But whether he likes it or not, the real Hansen has also generated a lot of interest by continually speaking out against the film. Long before seeing the film, Hansen strongly criticized Pattinson’s “overly dramatic” portrayal of him. He also emphasized that “Primetime” is not a literal retelling of his career and questioned the studio’s “motive” in dramatizing the making of the hit reality series. When Hansen finally watched “Primetime,” he wasn’t exactly enthused. He called the film “so bizarre” and “detached from reality.” In doing so, it made headlines and put “Primetime” on the radar of “To Catch a Predator” fans across the country.
Venice Marching Band
The Venice Film Festival can be hit or miss in terms of launching a film into the mainstream. For every critical and commercial success like “A Star Is Born,” “The Shape of Water” and “La La Land,” there’s a high-profile dud a la “Joker: Folie à Deux” or “After the Hunt.” Venice served as the kickoff for “Primetime,” which was greeted with an enthusiastic seven-minute ovation. Since there weren’t many Hollywood-backed films at the glamorous Italian festival, “Primetime” became the talk of the Lido – leading to weeks of positive word of mouth before the general public saw the film. It’s more love!
A director to watch
Oppenheim, the 30-year-old filmmaker known for documentaries like HBO’s “Some Kind of Heaven” and “Ren Faire,” was already emerging as a major emerging talent after “Primetime,” his first narrative feature. And then, just days after “Primetime” debuted in Venice, Oppenheim reached a new level of fame after he and comedian Nathan Fielder unveiled their top-secret documentary “You Can See Everything,” about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, at the Telluride Film Festival. Overnight, Oppenheim found himself everyone radar, which brought even more attention to this project. Call it the Elizabeth Holmes bump?
Gn entert
