We have had back-to-back weeks where the top 10 produced less than $50 million, amounting to the lowest hauls since last February. This week we get our first box office leader with less than $10 million since the second weekend of Argylle last February and the first time a new release has led with less than that since Magic Mike’s Last Dance in February of 2023. At this rate we are looking at a March that won’t be much better than the pandemic-shortened year of 2020. Don’t hit the panic button just yet, though, since both January and February outgrossed 2024, but audiences are still stuck between seasons and not totally buying what is being offered.
King of the Crop: Novocaine Debuts at Top of Dismal Weekend
Coming out on top for the unfortunately dubious distinction this week is Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s Novocaine with Jack Quaid. The violent action/comedy opened to $8.7 million this weekend. Only one March film since 2000 has opened to less than $10 million and reached $35 million, and that was God’s Not Dead. The $18 million-budgeted film could make $25 million domestically and would need about another $20 million internationally (thus far, just $1.8 million) to wind up on the right side of the ledger for Paramount and partners. Critics have mostly embraced it (it’s currently Certified Fresh at 82%), so let’s see if audiences spread the word into its sophomore weekend.
Rotten Returns: Things Aren’t Looking Good for Mickey 17
Falling over 60% in its second weekend is Bong Joon-Ho’s Mickey 17. Warner Bros. is trying to keep it up in the charts by announcing it made approximately $100,000 more than the third place film this week, but there’s nothing promising for the bottom line with just $7.51 in its sophomore outing. That brings the domestic total of the $118 million-budgeted film to just $33 million and much closer to the numbers of Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns than anyone would like. Perry’s March release had $32.5 million in 10 days after a $7.48 million second weekend and finished just shy of $42 million. A $40-45 million finish line is not great for Mickey 17, given that international sales are currently soft with just another $57 million to date, priming this to have the worst bottom line of the year so far.
Tales of the top 10: Black Bag Leads Three More New Films
Opening in third place this week is one of the best reviewed films of the year. Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag arrives Certified Fresh at 96% on the Tomatometer — the best for any wide release this year and the highest score for Soderbergh’s theatrical work going back to the 96% for sex, lies and videotape in 1989. Focus put this spy thriller out in 2,705 theaters and it grossed $7.5 million. Soderbergh, who has seemingly worked non-stop since his “retirement” and made a number of films for Netflix and MAX, has not had a theatrical release open to $10 million since Magic Mike back in 2012. The $50 million price tag is Soderbergh’s heftiest since 2011’s Contagion, which grossed over $135 million worldwide. Black Bag would need close to that to have any hope that Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender’s modern day Thin Man pairing gets a theatrical sequel. The film did (minimally) outpace expectations for the weekend, so hopefully critical praise will get more people in and spread word of mouth. Globally it has made $11.8 million.
For its fifth week in the top five, Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World finished with $5.4 million. It is now at $185.4 million domestically and $388 million worldwide. The film is not going to be a winner theatrically for Disney, but everyone is still holding on hope of at least cracking the 200/400 list. Half of that appears possible. Brave New World is at the point where it is beating the weekend of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania but not the weekdays, and it’s still $20 million off its pace. So it is going to need to much better than a million-and-a-half weekend gain to reach $200 million domestic. Right now it is looking to come up just shy of that.
Films for the family make up the next three spots on the chart, starting with the release of The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. This is another in the too-long list of films that Warner Bros. jettisoned from their library. Thankfully, unlike Batgirl or Coyote vs. Acme, this one was picked up by Ketchup Entertainment,aaa who even gave it a hopeful awards run back in December before unleashing Daffy Duck and Porky Pig vs. zombies and aliens everywhere. Unfortunately that only amounted to $3.1 million this weekend as we wonder why we can’t have nice things.
Families have decided what they wanted to champion this year so far and it is Dog Man, celebrating its seventh week in the top 10 with $2.5 million. That brings its total to $92.8 million as it flirts with the possibility of reaching nine digits, even if it likely comes up just short. Worldwide it has not done as much as Paddington in Peru, and the lovable bear made $2.7 million in its fifth weekend to place just above Dog Man. Sadly, $41.3 million added to its $142 million international haul is not going to get it to where it needs to be for a theatrical profit.
Stuck in between all that family fare was The Last Supper — not the politically charged murder comedy from 1996 with Courtney B. Vance, Cameron Diaz, Bill Paxton and Ron Perlman, but exactly what you might expect it to be. Jamie Ward stars as Jesus with Robert Knepper as Judas, and it opened to $2.8 million in 1,575 theaters. Rounding out the top 10, we have Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey with $2.4 million. At $35.2 million it is headed for a little more than half of what Longlegs made. The underwater true story thriller Last Breath hangs on with $2.3 million, bringing its total to $18.5 million.
Beyond the Top 10: Mufasa Finally Drops Out
After 12 weeks, Mufasa: The Lion King finally dropped out of the top 10 with $1.19 million and increased its domestic total to $252.4 million. The latest horror film from A24, Opus with Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, debuted just outside the top 10 with $1 million. Best Picture winner Anora made another $640,000 this weekend in 1,062 theaters to bring its total just shy of $20 million domestic and $52 million worldwide. Angel’s release of Rule Breakers last week dropped 71% down to $433,000. It has made $2.6 million in 10 days. Neon released The Actor with Andre Holland into 23 theaters and it grossed $20,000.
On the Vine: Snow White and The Alto Knights
Spring officially begins on Mar. 21 and theaters are hoping that Disney’s Snow White kicks the movie season into higher gear. The live-action version of the classic animated film with Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot will no doubt lead the way next week. We’ll also see Robert DeNiro in a dual role for Barry Levinson in The Alto Knights, the long delayed Magazine Dreams with Jonathan Majors, the sci-fi horror film Ash from Flying Lotus and the thriller Locked with Bill Skarsgard and Anthony Hopkins.
Full List of Box Office Results: March 14-16, 2025
- Novocaine – $8.7 million ($8.7 million total)
- Mickey 17 – $7.51 million ($33.2 million total)
- Black Bag – $7.5 million ($7.5 million total)
- Captain America: Brave New World – $5.4 million ($185.4 million total)
- The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie – $3.1 million ($3.1 million total)
- The Last Supper – $2.8 million ($2.8 million total)
- Paddington in Peru – $2.7 million ($41.3 million total)
- Dog Man – $2.5 million ($92.8 million total)
- The Monkey – $2.4 million ($35.2 million total)
- Last Breath – $2.3 million ($18.5 million total)
Erik Childress can be heard each week evaluating box office on Business First AM with Angela Miles and his Movie Madness Podcast. [box office figures via Box Office Mojo]
Thumbnail image by Marcos Cruz/©Paramount Pictures
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