Who could have guessed that Twisters, a movie lacking any global warming propaganda, would take the box office by storm?

The movie, a standalone sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” has collected a massive $80.5 million from 4,151 North American theaters in its debut. Heading into the weekend, the follow-up film was projected to generate $50 million to $55 million. It’s the third-biggest opening weekend of the year behind “Inside Out 2” ($154 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($82 million). Directed by “Minari” filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, “Twisters” stars Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos as storm chasers who find themselves in the fight of their lives as multiple tornadoes converge over central Oklahoma.

Analysts believe several factors contributed to the surge in initial ticket sales, the most important being that audiences simply dug the film. It holds an “A-” on CinemaScore. Nostalgia for the original blockbuster, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as the rising bankability of the property’s fresh faces, Powell (of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Anyone But You” fame) and Edgar-Jones (a favorite from Hulu’s romantic drama series “Normal People”), helped to drive interest. “Twisters” also overperformed in the Midwest, specifically in the areas impacted by these dangerous natural disasters.

After Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung bluntly told CNN that the movie would not include climate change propaganda, word had obviously gotten out about this and moviegoers responded in kind. This as evidenced by good box office returns for three other recently released movies that lack any political messaging, including one movie from Disney studios: Inside Out 2.

The message is clear: people are tired of movie production companies using their products as platforms to preach to their audiences about politics. Hopefully, the success of movies like Twisters and Despicable Me 4 that are absent any political propaganda will sent a clear message to movie studios to produce good entertainment and not act like leftist NGO’s.