Box office Nope grossed $123.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $48 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $171.2 million. It made $19.5 million on its opening day, including $6.4 million (down 14% from the $7.4 million earned by Peele's 2019 film
Us) from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $44.4 million, topping the box office. It also posted the best opening weekend for an original film since
Us. While the film came in on the low-end of projections,
Deadline Hollywood still deemed it a success, noting its opening was higher than
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ($41 million), another R-rated original film released in July 2019, as well as its Friday-to-Saturday gross not steeply declining, indicating possible legs at the box office.
Deadline also reported that despite failing to meet Universal's $50 million opening threshold for a longer 31-day theatrical window before going to
premium video on demand, Universal would still honor the longer window for the film. The film dropped 58% in its sophomore weekend to $18.6 million, finishing second behind newcomer
DC League of Super-Pets. It finished third and fifth the following two weekends, with $8.5 million and $5.3 million, respectively. On August 9, 2022, during its third week, the film crossed the $100 million milestone in the United States and Canada, making it the first R-rated film to pass the milestone since
Bad Boys for Life in January 2020. It also surpassed Universal's other horror film
Halloween Kills ($92 million in the United States and Canada) to become the highest grossing R-rated film in the United States and Canada during the pandemic.
Critical response received praise for his direction. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as
Us, while
PostTrak reported 79% of filmgoers gave it a positive score.
Richard Roeper of the
Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a score of four out of four stars, calling it "an exhilarating piece of cinema filled with memorable characters," and "a classic example of a bold and original film that pays homage to a seemingly endless stream of great movies, and yet, is more than the sum of its parts." Odie Henderson, writing for
RogerEbert.com, gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, commending the film's sound mixing and calling it "definitely Peele's creepiest movie," and writing that Peele himself "remains a master of misdirection."
David Sims of
The Atlantic wrote that "
Nope is tinged with the acidic satire that suffused [Peele's] previous two movies, as Peele examines why the easiest way to process horror these days is to turn it into breathtaking entertainment." Likewise, Michael Shindler of
The American Spectator singled out Holst as a "polite caricature" of
Werner Herzog, highlighting how the latter contrasts favorably with the film's heroes, and noted that Peele "resists the temptation to warp the plot into a hackneyed morality play," instead playing "the story straight" in the vein of
Paul Verhoeven's
Starship Troopers. Chris Evangelista of
/Film wrote that "
Nope may not be Jordan Peele's best movie to date, but it is his most enjoyable. A true summer movie spectacle meant to be writ large across the screen, giving us thrills, chills, laughs, and that most precious of things: movie magic." David Ehrlich of
IndieWire praised the film, saying "It doesn't hurt that Peele's latest boasts some of the most inspired [] design since
H. R. Giger left his mark on the genre, or that Kaluuya's eyes remain some of Hollywood's most special effects, as
Nope gets almost as much mileage from their weariness as
Get Out squeezed from their clarity. It's through them that
Nope searches for a new way of seeing, returns the Haywoods to their rightful place in film history, and creates the rare Hollywood spectacle that doesn't leave us looking for more."
Screen Rants Ben Kendrick called it "a love letter to filmmaking" and called Brandon Perea's portrayal of Angel Torres a "stand-out" among the supporting cast, while praising Kaluuya and Palmer's performances. Richard Lawson of
Vanity Fair was mixed about the film, saying "As
Nope swerves and reels, it often seems distracted by itself, unable to hold its focus on any one thing long enough for deeper meaning, or feeling, to coalesce." Alonso Duralde of
TheWrap wrote "This ultimately feels like four very promising movies mashed together, with spectacular highlights bumping into each other in a way that's ultimately lacking, even as they all demonstrate the prowess and bravado of the filmmaker."
Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, writing, "There is something clotted and heavy about this film, with sadly not enough of the humour for which Peele justly became celebrated in his double-act days with
Keegan-Michael Key."
Argentine filmmaker
Andy Muschietti praised the film, saying "It's quite unusual that a filmmaker uses the themes of his movie to create an experiential game with the audience. That is what Jordan Peele does so well in
Nope. The "addiction to spectacle" is not only a subtextual idea in the story but more importantly a very intentional exercise of tension that he puts the spectators through."
Retrospective lists In 2023, it ranked number 21 on
IndieWires list of films with "The Best Cinematography of the 21st Century," noting that the visuals gave the film "a unique sense of grandeur and mounting terror". The site also listed it at number 8 on its list of the "62 Best Science Fiction Films of the 21st Century," number 4 on its list of the "25 Scariest Alien Movies of All Time" and number 12 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)." Michael Abels' score also ranked number 2 on the site's list of the best film scores of 2022.
Comic Book Resources ranked it at number 10 on its list of the "10 Best Horror Movies of the 2020s (So Far)," writing that "There's no denying the genius-level storytelling that went into the making of
Nope and its many layers that blend
social satire with an overwhelming sense of dread and mystery.
Nope is a mixture of the best parts of
Alien and
Jaws rolled into a movie that features one of the most unique creature features of the last twenty years. The fear of the unknown surrounding the creature and its unstoppable nature make for a wild ride in
Nope that any horror fan will appreciate for its distinctive style." The site also called Jean Jacket one of the "best
movie monsters of the 21st century", noting the UFO creature's unpredictability and positively comparing it to the shark from
Jaws.
Far Out also listed the film as one of the "10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century", writing that it showcases Peele's "unrestrained imagination in all the best ways" and praised Jean Jacket's appearance as "one of, if not
the most, imaginative and singular alien creature designs in cinema history".
Marie Claire also included it on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of All Time". On January 1, 2024,
Rolling Stone ranked it at number 78 on its inaugural list of "The 150 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time," writing "Jordan Peele's third movie could be described as an alien invasion tale in the spirit of
War of the Worlds. But that shorthand would miss wonderfully peculiar touches like a Black family that's wrangled horses for showbiz since the dawn of cinema or a
Gold Rush-themed amusement park or sitcom cancelled after an on-set rampage by a chimpanzee. A flying saucer isn't secondary to all these elements, but
Nope puts the threat of a UFO on the same uncanny footing as the Hollywood outsiders and misfits who have been summoned to combat it. For Peele to pack these ideas into a sci-fi summer blockbuster that still delivers is, frankly, a 21st-century auteur flex." In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of
The New York Times list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 104.
Accolades == Possible sequels ==