Heading into the long weekend, Universal’s “Wolf Man” reboot was projected to climb to No. 1 on domestic box office charts. Yet Sony’s “One of Them Days,” an R-rated buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA, may have the last laugh.
“One of Them Days” opened at No. 2 on the higher end of expectations with $11.6 million from 2,675 North American venues over the weekend and an estimated $14 million through the extended Martin Luther King Jr. holiday frame. Against a trim $14 million budget, the well-reviewed funny film is shaping up to be a major commercial win for Sony. Meanwhile “Wolf Man” debuted below forecasts, in third place with $10.5 million from 3,354 theaters over the weekend and an estimated $12 million through the holiday on Monday. The movie cost just $25 million to produce, which should be a relief to the studio because critics and audiences weren’t fans of the horror remake. “Wolf Man” was saddled with a “C-” grade on CinemaScore and 53% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Overall, it’s among the slowest MLK holiday weekends on record with roughly $100 million across all films in theaters. Neither of the newcomers, “Wolf Man” or “One of Them Days,” had enough bite to dethrone the reigning champion, Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King.” The family film ceded the crown last weekend to Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” but returned to No. 1 with $11.9 million from 3,555 cinemas over the weekend and an estimated $15.5 million through Monday in its fifth frame. Those ticket sales mark one of the lowest hauls to ever claim first place over the MLK holiday stretch. After a softer start ahead of Christmastime, “Mufasa” has enjoyed a reversal in theatrical fortunes with $209.8 million domestically and $588.4 million globally to date.
“One of Them Days” should get a boost from word-of-mouth after scoring a promising “A-” on CinemaScore and 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Lawrence Lamont and produced by Issa Rae, the film follows two roommates who race against the clock to avoid eviction after one of their boyfriend’s steals their rent money. Though theatrical comedies have been an endangered breed, Sony is one of the rare major studios to keep the genre alive — and it’s done so by keeping costs in line with the realities of the marketplace.
“This is an excellent opening,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “The three-day figure is double the average for the genre. At a cost of $14 million, the film is going to be very profitable when it finishes in all ancillary markets.”
“Wolf Man” also stumbled internationally with $4.83 million from 53 overseas markets, bringing its global tally to $15.3 million. Christopher Abbot stars in director Leigh Whannell’s new take on the 1941 film about a man who gets bitten by a mysterious predator and begins to transform into a dangerous creature that soon jeopardizes the lives of his family. Whannell, whose writing credits include “Saw” and “Insidious,” steered Universal’s 2020 horror remake “The Invisible Man” to sleeper hit status and helped to revive the studio’s flailing monster-verse. After trying and failing to create an interconnected universe based on its vast catalog of classic monsters, Universal has opted to focus on lower-budget standalone features — though to mixed results. “The Invisible Man” was a win, but 2023’s “Renfield,” with Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his unhinged henchman, majorly misfired with $26 million globally. Director James Wan will take the next stab with a “Creature From the Black Lagoon” remake.
“Leigh Whannell is a major horror talent, but audiences aren’t enthusiastic,” says Gross. “It’s a miss, but it’s not a disaster.”
Elsewhere on box office charts, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3″ placed fourth with $8.6 million over the traditional weekend and an estimated $11 million through Monday. The kid-friendly threequel has grossed $218 million in North America and $420 million globally after five weekends of release. Those ticket sales are officially higher than its predecessors, 2020’s “Sonic” ($319 million) and the 2022 sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” ($405 million).
“Den of Thieves 2” rounded out the top five with $6.6 million over the weekend and an estimated $7.75 million through the extended holiday frame. The action thriller has generated $27.3 million domestically and $10 million internationally after two weekends on the big screen. “Pantera,” starring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr., carries a $40 million production budget. Although Lionsgate usually mitigates risk by selling foreign rights to its theatrical titles, the second “Den of Thieves” installment needs to endure on the big screen to match the $80 million haul of the original.
Paramount’s musical biopic “Better Man,” also in its second weekend of release, suffered a brutal 76% collapse from its tragic $1 million debut. The quirky movie, in which a CGI monkey portrays the British singer Robbie Williams, scraped together $255,000 from 1,290 theaters over the weekend and $310,000 through Monday, bringing its domestic tally to an embarrassing $1.8 million. It cost $110 million to produce (though Paramount acquired domestic rights for $25 million), making for one of the biggest theatrical misfires in history.
Meanwhile, “Moana 2” crossed a major box office milestone with $1 billion in global ticket sales. The animated sequel was originally developed as a series for Disney+ before it was retooled into a feature-length film. After eight weekends of release, “Moana 2″ has generated $445 million domestically and $567 million internationally for a grand total of $1.009 billion globally. This is Disney’s third 2024 release to join the billion-dollar club following “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
