The results are in on the Issa Rae-produced One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and Sza, and moviegoers are loving it! The comedy finished second at the box office, behind Mufasa but surpassing Blumhouse’s Wolf Man.
The Sony feature brought in $14 million over the 4-day weekend, earned an A- CinemaScore, an 84% positive audience rating, a 63% definite recommend score on PostTrak, and a Rotten Tomatoes critical and audience score of 96% and 94%, Deadline reports.
Directed by Lawrence Lamont and produced by Rae, the film follows two roommates forced into a wild neighborhood adventure after Alyssa (Sza) gives their rent money to her boyfriend, who keeps it for himself. Alyssa and her roommate Dreux (Palmer) race against the clock to avoid eviction and keep their friendship intact.
It was a labor of love for Rae and Lamont, who drew inspiration from classics like Ice Cube’s Friday
when crafting the Black female-led buddy comedy.“It means everything,” Rae told
Huff Post.“I think that’s what true friendship is,” Lamont added. “Drew and Alyssa, from day one on the page, felt like two girls that we just knew we grew up with. They might argue, but at the end of the day, they’re gonna love and uplift each other.”
Women are particularly enjoying the film, awarding it a 93% rating on PostTrak, with women under 25 giving it an impressive 97%. The film’s relatability, combined with the A+ performances of Sza and Palmer, was no surprise, as Rae and Lamont drew inspiration from their real-life personalities when developing the characters.“You just know these people. And that was important to us to just make sure that we had elements of who Keke is and who SZA is, to put in these characters and make them whole,” Rae said.
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