Eugenio Derbez may have reached crossover success with his box office hit “Instructions Not Included,” but he hasn’t forgotten about the people who helped him get there.
During an interview on Televisa last week, the Mexican actor revealed that U.S. tickets sales from Friday’s box office would be donated to the victims of Hurricanes Manuel and Ingrid in the coastal city of Acapulco, the Associated Press reports.
Over the Labor Day weekend, Derbez shocked U.S. audiences when the comedy flick “Instructions Not Included,” which he directed and starred in, turned into the biggest Spanish-language opening in history. The 52-year-old actor filmed part of the movie in Acapulco and hopes his actions prompt others to help.
“[Profits] will be entirely donated to victims in Acapulco,” Derbez told journalist Joaquin Lopez Dóriga on Televisa, according to the Associated Press. “Hopefully this will motivate the entire Mexican society, we cannot stand idly by, the damage is so great that the governments will not able to do it on their own.”
In its fourth week in theaters, the star’s film has grossed over $33 million in the United States alone. The movie opened in Mexican theaters on Friday and became the biggest opening weekend ever in the country, for a Mexican production, earning almost $11.6 million.
Last Thursday, the actor-turned director said he hoped to raise around $1 million for the hundreds who have lost homes, business and loved ones in Acapulco. And Derbez’s wish came true, the movie earned nearly $1.4 million in the U.S. on Friday.