Box Office Recap: January 24-26, 2025
Flight Risk takes off with No. 1 opening weekend.
It was once again all quiet along the January front at the box office this past weekend, with the top ten films taking a -21.8% dip from last weekend and grossing a combined total of only $54.29 million. This, of course, allowed Oscar winner Mel Gibson’s action thriller Flight Risk to essentially cruise on autopilot to a first place finish, slightly exceeding its $9-11 million pre-release projections with a $12 million debut. Also debuting was Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh’s supernatural thriller Presence, which also exceeded its $2-3 million pre-release projections with a near $4 million opening weekend haul. Elsewhere, on the milestone watch, Moana 2 is now within $8-9 million of becoming a top ten highest grossing animated film.
Winning first place, Lionsgate’s Flight Risk finished with a $12.0 million domestic debut, opening in 3,161 theaters and averaging around $3,796 per location. The Mark Wahlberg-led action thriller received not only negative reviews from critics but also a sub-par “C” CinemaScore from moviegoers, which could mean trouble for the remainder of its run. That said, such trouble could be mitigated by the fact that the film’s reported production budget was only $25 million, and as of now, any overseas earnings have yet to be reported.
In the runner-up spot, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King continued to hold on to second place over its sixth weekend in release, finishing with $8.70 million domestically for a domestic cume of $221.07 million. This marks a drop of only -27.8% from its previous frame, earning a per-theater average of $2,543 at 3,420 locations. Overseas, the animated musical brought in an additional $405.60 million to help push its worldwide total to $626.67 million against a reported production budget of $200 million.
Finishing in third, Sony’s One of Them Days earned $8.0 million domestically over its sophomore weekend run, which pushes its domestic total to $25.09 million. This marks a drop of just -32.2% from its debut frame, earning a per-theater average of $2,990 at 2,675 locations. Internationally, the buddy comedy earned $27.87k for a global cume of $25.12 million against a reported production budget of $14 million.
In fourth place, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continued its strong run, pulling in $5.50 million domestically over its sixth weekend in release for a domestic cume of $226.10 million. This marks a drop of -36.1% from its prior frame, earning a per-theater average of $1,775 at 3,097 locations. Overseas, the action-adventure comedy grossed $220.50 million to date, bringing its total worldwide gross to $446.60 million against a reported production budget of $122 million.
Rounding out the top five, Disney’s Moana 2 earned $4.30 million domestically over its ninth weekend in release, pushing its total domestic performance to $450.04 million. This marks a drop of only -28.3% from its previous frame, earning a per-theater average of $1,686 at 2,550 locations. Internationally, the animated musical sequel took in over a half billion with $576.0 million for a global cume that currently stands at $1.026 billion against a reported production budget of $150 million. As of now, Moana 2 ranks twelfth among the highest grossing animated films and trails Despicable Me 3 ($1.035 billion) by roughly $8-9 for that entry position in the coveted top ten.
Just outside the top five, in sixth place, Neon’s Presence opened with $3.42 million domestically, debuting in 1,750 locations and pulling in an average of $1,951 per theater. Though the supernatural thriller received strong reviews from critics, it did get a lukewarm “C+” CinemaScore from viewers, which could affect its performance in the oncoming weeks. That said, in addition to its international earnings not being reported yet, Presence’s reported production budget was only $2 million, so the film has already nearly doubled its budget just with its domestic performance alone. How much distance it can continue to separate between its box office and budget, though, remains to be seen.
One film of note within the top ten is the seventh place Wolf Man. Universal’s classic monster reboot suffered a hefty -70.2% drop from its debut frame, pulling in only $3.40 million domestically over its second weekend in release for a domestic cume of $17.66 million. Internationally, the Leigh Whannell directed horror film earned an additional $10.0 million, pushing its total worldwide gross to $27.66 million against a reported production budget of $25 million. Between the poor opening weekend CinemaScore from viewers and now this big of a second weekend drop (for perspective, a normal sophomore drop typically hovers around the 40-50% mark), it’s clear that moviegoers have begun tuning out Wolf Man.
Outside the top ten, in eleventh place, Angel Studios debuted their drama Brave the Dark, which opened to the tune of $2.57 million domestically. The film, which is based on a true story, opened in 2,230 theaters and averaged around $1,151 per location. While that may not seem like much to write home about, Brave the Dark’s reported production budget appears to have been only $200k. Add to that a near-perfect “A” CinemaScore from moviegoers, and its forecast starts looking much brighter than its seemingly quiet opening may let on.
Opening this weekend, Warner Bros. will release their sci-fi psychological thriller Companion, starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid; and Universal will debut DreamWorks’s animated superhero comedy Dog Man, featuring the voices of Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher and Ricky Gervais.
* Total estimated worldwide gross listed in parenthesis, new releases listed in bold.
1) Flight Risk – $12.0 million, Week 1 ($12.0 million)
2) Mufasa: The Lion King – $8.70 million, Week 6 ($626.67 million)
3) One of Them Days – $8.0 million, Week 2 ($25.12 million)
4) Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – $5.50 million, Week 6 ($446.60 million)
5) Moana 2 – $4.30 million, Week 9 ($1.026 billion)
6) Presence – $3.42 million, Week 1 ($3.42 million)
7) Wolf Man – $3.40 million, Week 2 ($27.66 million)
8) A Complete Unknown – $3.10 million, Week 5 ($66.98 million)
9) Den of Thieves 2: Pantera – $3.0 million, Week 3 ($40.46 million)
10) The Brutalist – $2.87 million, Week 6 ($11.54 million)
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