Box Office Recap: January 17-19, 2025
One of Them Days narrowly beats Mufasa for box office crown, while Wolf Man opens with a whimper.
It came down to the wire, but One of Them Days ultimately managed to edge out Mufasa by just a sliver for the title of box office champion over the MLK holiday weekend. The R-rated comedy fell comfortably within its pre-release projections of $8-13 million with an $11 million debut. Also opening over the holiday weekend, Universal’s Wolf Man came up short of its $15-21 million pre-release projections with a $10 million debut, which is disappointing considering the critical and financial success of its previous Universal Monsters reboot, 2020’s The Invisible Man. Elsewhere, on the milestone front, Disney’s Moana 2 finally crossed the billion dollar plateau, becoming the thirteenth animated film to do so.
Winning first place, Sony’s One of Them Days opened to the tune of $11.60 million domestically. The buddy comedy, which stars Keke Palmer and singer SZA, debuted in 2,675 theaters, earning an average of $4,336 per location. As of now, international earnings have yet to be reported, but even without them factored in, the film’s outlook looks pretty bright. For one, its reported production budget is only $14 million. Two, in addition to critical praise, it also received a strong “A-” CinemaScore from moviegoers. Given that it has no similar competition standing in its way this upcoming weekend, all signs are pointing to an overall solid run for One of Them Days.
In the runner-up spot, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King earned $11.53 million domestically over its fifth weekend in release for a domestic cume of $205.83 million. This marks a drop of only -18.9% from its prior frame, earning a per-theater average of $3,243 at 3,555 locations. Internationally, the animated musical has nearly doubled its domestic outing with $382.20 million for a grand worldwide total that currently stands at $588.03 million against a reported production budget of $200 million.
Finishing in third, Universal’s Wolf Man opened with $10.56 million domestically. The Leigh Whannell-directed horror reboot of Universal’s 1941 classic The Wolf Man debuted in 3,354 theaters, earning an average of $3,145 per location. Internationally, Wolf Man grossed an additional $4.83 million, which brings its worldwide total to $15.39 million against a reported production budget of $25 million.
For comparison, Whannell’s previous effort, 2020’s The Invisible Man, opened with $28.21 million and went on to gross $144.49 million worldwide, which is actually remarkable when you consider it managed to gross nearly $150 million on just a $7 million production budget despite having its run cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. That may initially appear to present a pleasant forecast for Wolf Man, but The Invisible Man also benefited greatly from both critical acclaim and a strong “B+” CinemaScore from moviegoers, and that’s the main area of concern for Wolf Man. Not only was critical reception mixed, it received a sub-par “C-” CinemaScore from viewers, which could definitely affect its run in the oncoming weeks.
Of course, time will tell, especially after we see what its sophomore drop is, and Soderbergh’s horror film Presence could very well have a big hand in that this upcoming weekend by pulling from Wolf Man’s audience. One silver lining for Wolf Man, though, is that its reported production budget is only $25 million, which is typical of Blumhouse productions, so its break even hurdle isn’t as far out of reach as other higher-budgeted films that fail to meet opening expectations.
In fourth place, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continued its strong run with a fifth weekend tally of $8.60 million domestically, pushing its domestic total to $216.50 million. This marks a drop of only -24.3% from its prior frame, earning a per-theater average of $2,601 at 3,306 locations. Internationally, the action-adventure comedy, which based is on the iconic video game series, has nearly matched its domestic outing with $203.50 million for a global cume of $420.0 million against a reported production budget of $122 million.
Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate’s Den of Thieves 2: Pantera earned $6.60 million domestically over its sophomore frame for a domestic cume of $26.18 million. This marks a drop of -56.1% from its debut frame, earning a per-theater average of $2,194 at 3,008 locations. Overseas, the Gerard Butler-led heist thriller has earned $5.04 million, bringing its worldwide total to $31.22 million against a reported production budget of $40 million.
Just outside the top five, in sixth place, Disney’s Moana 2 brought in $6.07 million domestically over its eighth weekend in release, pushing its domestic total to $442.80 million. This marks a minuscule drop of only -7.2% from its prior frame, pulling in a per-theater average of $2,147 at 2,825 locations. Internationally, the animated musical has earned $567.10 million, which finally places Moana 2 in the prestigious billion dollar club with $1.010 billion worldwide against a reported production budget of $150 million. Currently, it ranks thirteenth among the highest-grossing animated films but trails Despicable Me 3 ($1.035 billion) by roughly $25 million for that entry position in the top ten.
Opening this weekend, Lionsgate will debut Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson’s action thriller Flight Risk, starring Michelle Dockery, Topher Grace and Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg; and Neon will debut Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s supernatural horror film Presence, starring Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and Julia Fox.
* Total estimated worldwide gross listed in parenthesis, new releases listed in bold.
1) One of Them Days – $11.60 million, Week 1 ($11.60 million)
2) Mufasa: The Lion King – $11.53 million, Week 5 ($588.03 million)
3) Wolf Man – $10.56 million, Week 1 ($15.39 million)
4) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – $8.60 million, Week 5 ($420.0 million)
5) Den of Thieves 2: Pantera – $6.60 million, Week 2 ($31.22 million)
6) Moana 2 – $6.07 million, Week 8 ($1.010 billion)
7) Nosferatu – $4.30 million, Week 4 ($155.64 million)
8) A Complete Unknown – $3.80 million, Week 4 ($57.61 million)
9) Wicked – $3.55 million, Week 9 ($708.64 million)
10) Babygirl – $2.02 million, Week 4 ($30.71 million)
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