Kevin Hart's latest film The Upside dethrones Aquaman at US box office despite Oscars backlash
The actor was recently embroiled in controversy following resurfaced tweets
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Your support makes all the difference.While Kevin Hart may have caused controversy after dropping out of Oscars host, there’s no sign of impact on his appeal to cinemagoers.
The actor and comedian’s latest film has topped the US box-office, beating superhero blockbuster Aquaman.
Starring Hart as a recently paroled convict who becomes the unlikely fired of a wealthy quadriplegic man (Bryan Cranston), The Upside scored a $19.6 million opening weekend.
The film – a remake of French 2011 drama The Intouchables – has had a long journey to cinemas. Having first debuted at the 2017 Toronto Festival, distribution rights were bought by the Weinstein company.
Following numerous allegations of sexual assault against founder Harvey Weinstein, the company was closed and the rights to the film were later bought by STX Entertainment and Lantern Entertainment.
Hart was embroiled in controversy himself just weeks before The Upside‘s release. The 39-year-old was announced as host of the 2019 Oscars, leading to homophobic tweets from almost a decade ago resurfacing online.
After initially refusing to apologise, Hart later said sorry to the LGBT+ community for the comments and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The Oscars has since decided to continue without a host, with organisers instead hoping to attract big names to present awards.
Meanwhile, Aquaman has topped $1 billion at the global box office, beating DC rival The Dark Knight.
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