The weekend’s box office take was very encouraging for the state of cinematic storytelling, especially stories aimed at grown-ups—a demographic it's sometimes easy to imagine the major studios forget even exist.

Horror sequel It: Chapter 2 once again took the top spot during its second week in theaters, with a haul of just over $40 million. Although it's still lagging slightly behind its predecessor in the domestic results, the mere fact that an R-rated horror film of this magnitude exists is cause for celebration. From no perspective is the film being considered a failure, and it will hopefully encourage further investment in large-scale horror films aimed at adults.

Although It: Chapter 2 made the most money, it was the film in second place that garnered the most attention, and stands as the most encouraging result of the weekend.

A few months ago, people weren't simply not talking about Hustlers, barely anyone even knew it was coming down the pike. Despite that lack of build-up, the dramatic-thriller opened to an extremely impressive take of more than $33 million over the weekend. There are several reasons why this is news worth celebrating.

Firstly, before anyone got to see the film, it could be assumed that it’d be met with a similar response to that of The Kitchen, another recent female-fronted crime drama. Inspired by a magazine article about actual events, Hustlers tells the story of a group of strippers (played by Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart and Cardi B) who when faced with financial strife, begin using their wiles to rip off their rich Wall Street clients.

Like The Kitchen, it comes out in a time when there is a wide push for more female-centric stories, but unlike The Kitchen, people actually seem to like this movie. The buzz first began emanating from a well-timed premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, when critics started raving about how good the movie was a week before it hit theaters.

In a marketing and brand-driven film marketplace, it's common to dismiss a film's critical response, but the response to Hustlers shows that sometimes the critics, and by extension, the quality of the storytelling itself, matters.

It also shows that movies targeted at adults don't need to rely upon brand awareness to break out. Which can only be a good thing for original storytelling.

The superficial resemblance to The Kitchen (and to a certain degree, last year's Widows) hasn't held Hustlers back, suggesting some appreciation of nuance in the macro audience. Which doesn't often happen.

It's also a hearty reminder of the importance of good ol' fashioned star power, with audiences relishing the chance to re-embrace Jennifer Lopez, who is already generating Oscar buzz for her performance.

The cold, hard numbers should also help silence some of the more cynical observers complaining about the recent push for more female-centric stories. The film’s reception shows the movement is not about tokenism, but about presenting alternative storytelling perspectives that captivate audiences. It's a huge victory for writer-director Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Meddler), who with the success of Hustlers, has now truly arrived as a major filmmaker.

The power of initial reviews from a TIFF premiere is also highlighted by the fate met by another film that debuted over the weekend: The Goldfinch. This star-studded adaptation of Donna Tart's acclaimed novel has 'prestige project' written all over it, but the critics eviscerated it upon its Toronto screening. The Goldfinch opened to a meagre $2.6 million over the weekend, a paltry sum for a movie in more than 2,500 theaters.

We celebrated the initial response to another TIFF premiere in this space last week, Taika Waititi's “anti-hate satire” Jojo Rabbit. Since then, there have been a tide of negative reviews from critics who struggled with the film's juxtaposition of dry humor, sentimentality and the Holocaust.

Just when it seemed like the film's awards fate might be sealed, it went and won TIFF's Audience Award over the weekend, thrusting it back into the awards race—nearly every film that wins this award ends up with a Best Picture Oscar® nomination.

What this means for the film's box office chances remains to be seen; it opens in one month's time. But people are definitely talking about it.