Primetime, A24 true-crime thriller starring Robert Pattinson as Dateline NBC host Chris Hansen, scored $19.2 million from 2,863 American venues in its opening weekend.

Directed by Lance Oppenheim, Primetime centers on the production of “To Catch a Predator” and Hansen’s using sting frenetic operations to confront child sexual predators in .

Primetime ranked in fourth place, behind Disney’s rerelease of “Avengers: Endgame Encore” ($26 million), Sony’s “Resident Evil” reboot ($23 million) and Paramount’s wilderness adventure “The Heart of the Beast” ($20 million), but it only cost $15 million to produce, so it will turn profit theatrically.

Critics and Viewers

Critics embraced the movie, which holds an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave “Primetime” a mixed “B” grade on CinemaScore exit polls, perhaps due to the film’s unsettling nature.

It’s been a big year for Pattinson, the heartthrob-turned-bona-fide movie star. In 2026, he’s been in “The Drama,” Christ Nolan’s summer smash “The Odyssey” and will appear the sci-fi sequel “Dune: Part III.”

While he shares the credit with Zendaya and Nolan for those wins, Pattinson is a major draw in “Primetime.”

More than 75% of viewers cited Pattinson as their No. 1 reason for buying a ticket, according to exit polls of PostTrak.

Pattinson managed to get people to theaters without a splashy press tour. (he’s been busy filming “The Batman: Part II” in London.).

Pattinson showed up at Venice Fest, where “Primetime” bowed to raves, and gave some phone interviews.

Gen Z Support

Viewers of 0pening weekend for Primetime skewed heavily Gen Z, with 69% of them under the age of 30.

That’s significant because most Zoomers were too young to watch “To Catch a Predator” when the show aired from 2004-2007.

It helped that he movie tapped into their love for the true-crime genre.

The turnout also highlighted the audience that A24 has cultivated over the years, thanks to edgy arthouse favorites like “Marty Supreme,” “Lady Bird,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and more.

“Primetime” is the indie studio’s second release this year to become an event for younger moviegoers. The first was “Backrooms,” which became a profitable breakout sensation with $400 million against a $10 million budget.

Pattinson has joked that he’s Gen Z (despite being 40, which makes him a Millennial).  His co-star Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love, which was a huge flop) jokingly charged that  he’s thinking he’s Gen Z because he likes to cold-call people on FaceTime; he claimed his birth year “doesn’t matter.”

Chris Hansen’s Marketing

A24 ran effective social media-heavy campaign for Primetime.

But whether he intended to or not, the real-life Hansen also stoked interest by speaking out against the movie.  Before he got to see it, Hansen was vocal in his criticism about Pattinson’s “overly dramatic” portrayal of him. He also said that “Primetime” isn’t a literal account of his career and questioned the studio’s “motive” in making a drama of the hit reality series. When Hansen finally watched “Primetime,” he called the film “bizarre” and “detached from reality.” Nonetheless, he made headlines and put Primetime on the radar of “To Catch a Predator” fans across the country.

Venice Fest Launching Pad

The Venice Film Festival can be hit or miss in terms of launching a movie 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 misfire à la “Joker: Folie à Deux” or “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts

Venice worked as the kickoff for “Primetime,” which was embraced with moderate standing ovation, but since there weren’t many Hollywood-backed movies at the Italian festival, “Primetime” became the talk of Lido, leading to positive world-of-mouth before general audiences saw the film.

Director to Watch: Oppenheim

Oppenheim, who’s 30, is known for documentaries like Some Kind of Heaven and HBO’s Ren Faire, rises as major talent after “Primetime,” his narrative debut.

Then, just days after Primetime launched at Venice Fest, Oppenheim and comedian Nathan Fielder unveiled their top-secret documentary You Can See Everything, about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, at Telluride Film Fest.

Seemingly overnight, Oppenheim found himself on Hollywood’s A-List of directors.

Source: Rebecca Rubin, “Variety”