411 Box Office Report: One Battle After Another Claims Top Spot, The Strangers: Chapter 2 Falls Short

Leonardo DiCaprio topped the box office this weekend as One Battle After Another claimed the #1 spot. The Paul Thomas Anderson-directed film brought in $22.4 million, right about where it was expected to be going into the frame. That is by far the best wide release opening weekend for a film from the director, topping the previous record of $5.7 million for Magnolia back in January of 2000. It is also more or less on par with the $23.3 million start for DiCaprio’s last film, Killers of the Flower Moon in October 2024.

While that all sounds look good news, we have to keep the budget in mind on this one. The film, Anderson’s first for Warner Bros. since Inherent Vice back in 2014, had a massive $140 million budget. That makes this a tall order for the studio to make back in theaters. For perspective, the previous highest budget in terms of PTA-directed films was Licorice Pizza which cost $40 million.

Anderson has long been a critically acclaimed filmmaker and an awards favorite, but he doesn’t exactly make blockbusters so this was a big swing for him and Warner Bros — especially when you consider that, as a two-and-a-half-hour film, showtimes were going to be more limited. Audiences also don’t generally run out to spend 160 minutes in the theaters unless there’s an Infinity Gauntlet or Ethan Hunt involved, and the period political overtones were not necessarily going to have mass appeal.

Now, it’s not all bad news. For one, Warner Bros. knew that they weren’t making a box office smash here; they had faith in the film’s quality and knew that Anderson’s films do gangbusters on home viewing once award season hits. That seems likely to be the case here. But it also has the potential for great legs to at least mitigate enough of that budget so that it’s not a box office bomb. The film has earned absolute raves with a 96% RT audience score and an A CinemaScore. The RT audience rating is also a very good 85%, and the studio is hoping this has a lengthy play as award season approaches.

One Battle After Another is better overseas than Anderson tends to, bringing in $26.1 million in 68 for a $48.5 million worldwide start. Still to come on the international front are territories like China, South Korea, Japan, and Turkey. Domestically, the film seems likely to be able to top $70 million and, if the buzz around it entices more people, could go even higher. Still, this will again be a film that likely hits its profit margin at home, if it does at all.

Coming in at #2 was Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie. The movie adaptation of the children’s series fell a bit short of its mid-to-high teens expectations going the frame. There’s not much that DreamWorks Animation and Universal can blame on this other than awareness; the film had no real competition in terms of family fare, and it’s garnered good marks from critics (80% on RT) and fans (95% on RT, A+ CinemaScore).

Now, this is not a death knell for the film; those critical marks are good and the right family film can find a long play in theaters. Gabby’s Dollhouse cost a reported $38 million, and it’s also important to keep in mind that this is more a merchandising play than anything else. But at $5.7 million overseas for a $19.4 million worldwide start, it will need some pretty good legs in order to make back its budget before it hits home video.

It should be noted that those legs are quite possible. After all, the PAW Patrol movies have one alright, with the first one legging it its similar $13.1 million start to a $40.1 million domestic total in August of 2021 – and that was a theatrical day-and-date release. Gabby’s Dollhouse is likely to at least total that much and combined with overseas numbers and its ancillary revenue, this will be a win when it’s all said and done.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle was down 59% in its third weekend, bringing in $7.1 million. The anime film is still deeply front-loaded, but no one cares about that as it’s grossed $118.2 million domestically and $602.8 million worldwide. It’s looking on course for about $140 million, depending on how long its theatrical play runs.

The Conjuring: Last Rites continues to have solid holds as it was down 44% in its fourth weekend for $6.9 million. The Warner Bros. horror film now has $161.5 million domestically and $435.9 million worldwide. Obviously, that is a huge hit against its $55 million budget, and it still seems likely for about $175 million total in the US.

In less positive horror news, The Strangers: Chapter 2 fell flat. The second film in Renny Harlin’s remake trilogy of the 2008 home invasion film brought in $5.9 million, below its expected $8 million to $9 million start. That’s half the opening of Chapter 1, which got off to an $11.8 million start in May of 2024.

It’s no secret that Lionsgate has been struggling over the past year, and this won’t help matters. The signs were on the wall for Chapter 2 when Chapter 1 was largely derided by both critics and fans. That pretty much ensured a lower take for Chapter 2, and when the reviews came in, they were even worse than the first with an 18% aggregate on RT (compared to a 21% for the first). Fan sentiment is lower as well with a C- CinemaScore to the first one’s C; while the RT audience is marginally higher than the first at 58% to 45%, those numbers tend to drop as time goes on and people who weren’t as predisposed to like it give it a go.

There is good news here though; like Chapter 1, the film was cheap at a budget of just $8.5 million. So it’s likely to end up proving mildly profitable if it can avoid completely tanking, and international numbers start coming in. Still, this will be a disappointment and with Chapter 3 already in the can, there’s one more to go. Chapter 2 seems likely to close out with around $15 million to $17 million in the US.

HIM free-fell after its opening weekend, with the sports horror film dipping a rough 72% to $3.7 million. That’s not at all what Universal was hoping for from a film that underperformed in its opening weekend. The Marlon Wayans-led film had one of the bigger second-weekend drops of the year, bringing its totals to $20.8 million stateside and $21.2 million worldwide. The movie looks like it may actually struggle to bring in a profit at this point against its $27 million budget unless the overseas numbers kick up. As of now, it’s looking likely to end at around $30 million domestically.

The Long Walk is doing better than some of the other horror movies in theaters, as it was down a solid 45% in its third weekend to bring in $3.4 million. This Stephen King adaptation has brought its totals to $28.8 million in the US and $34.7 million worldwide, solid enough on a $20 million budget that it is probably going to be profitable in theaters. The domestic total still looks to be around $35 million.

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale stabilized a bit as it brought in $3.3 million in its third weekend, down 48%. That’s comparable to the 45% drop for A New Era. Grand Finale is sure to beat its immediate predecessor’s $43.8 million domestic final; it has $39 million stateside and $77.1 million worldwide against a $50 million budget, something it will be profitable against once digital revenue is factored in.

Coming in at #9 was the Telugu-language action thriller They Call Him OG, which rung up $1.4 million. The Indian film opened well enough here in the states, considering the crowded marketplace and the niche demographic. It has $5.9 million domestically, having opened on Thursday, and $25.9 million worldwide and should drop out of the top 10 quickly as per the norm.

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey did exactly what was expected and dropped off after a very bad start. The romantic fantasy tallied $1.3 million, down 62% from last weekend’s disastrous start. That brings the film to $5.9 million domestically and $14 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. This is a money loser for Sony Pictures and won’t even top $10 million stateside.

We’ll have a new #1 next weekend as Taylor Swift returns to theaters with The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which is aiming at around $40 million. Meanwhile, The Rock’s The Smashing Machine is likely for around $15 million to $18 million and the re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water should be in the low single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. One Battle After Another – $22.4 million ($22.4 million total, $48.5 million WW)
2. Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie – $13.7 million ($13.7 million total, $19.4 million WW)
3. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle – $7.1 million ($118.2 million total, $602.8 million WW)
4. The Conjuring: Last Rites – $6.9 million ($161.5 million total, $435.9 million WW)
5. The Strangers: Chapter 2 – $5.9 million ($5.9 million total, $5.9 million WW)
6. HIM – $3.7 million ($20.8 million total, $21.2 million WW)
7. The Long Walk – $3.4 million ($28.8 million total, $34.7 million WW)
8. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – $3.3 million ($39 million total, $77.1 million WW)
9. They Call Him OG – $1.4 million ($5.9 million total, $25.9 million WW)
10. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – $1.3 million ($5.9 million total, $14 million WW)