Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed thriller “One Battle After Another” made history for the American auteur. The Warner Bros. release became Anderson’s biggest opening ever this weekend with an estimated $22.4 million to debut at no. 1 in the U.S. The Oscar contender has also pulled in $26.1 million overseas for a $48.5 million global tally so far.
READ MORE: “One Battle After Another”: Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro On Flawed Heroes, Page-Turner Scripts and The Genius Of Paul Thomas Anderson
“One Battle” has a reported budget of anywhere from $130-175 million. The film will need a “Sinners”-like run the next few weeks to break even, but already has an A Cinemascore in theaters and a hardcore fanbase spreading excellent word of mouth. It will face fierce competition next weekend when Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” and Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” arrive in theaters, but won’t lose most of its lucrative IMAX screens until the following weekend when “Tron: Ares” debuts.
Two years ago, another auteur, Martin Scorsese, dropped “Killers of the Flower Moon,” also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which was also critically acclaimed. Distributed by Paramount Pictures, that Apple Studios title opened to $23 million in effectively the same number of theaters. It was also 36 minutes longer. “Killers” ended up with just $68 million domestic after a big 59% drop in its second weekend. “One Battle” should have a better fate, even if break-even is too hard a mountain to climb.
Falling in right behind “Battle” was “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” which took in $13.7 million domestic and $19.3 million worldwide. DreamWorks Animation produced the hybrid live-action animated film for a reported $32 million. Based on the popular Netflix animated series, “Gabby’s” could not expand beyond its preschool audience in theaters.
The last new release this weekend was “The Strangers: Chapter 2,” which scared just $5.9 million in 2,690 for a $2,193 per screen. The Lionsgate release is one of the worst-reviewed films of the year, with just a 30 on Metacritic and a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even with a reported budget of just $8.5 million, will a third chapter actually happen?
After two weeks at no. 1, Sony Pictures and Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle” dropped to third with another $7.1 million and $118.1 million in the U.S. The Anime blockbuster has now earned a massive $605.4 million worldwide, including $305.4 million from Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures markets. “Demon Slayer” is now the highest-grossing Japanese film ever.
In other notable box office news, Universal’s “Him” dropped a massive 72% in its second weekend for another $3.6 million and $20.7 million overall. Sony Pictures’ “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” was not far behind, falling 62% for another $1.2 million and just $5.9 million domestic and $14 million worldwide.
Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” opened to $860,000 in 892 theaters for an OK $964 per screen, while the little hyped thriller “Dead of Winter,” starring Emma Thompson, surprised with $1 million in 605 theaters for a good $1,742 per screen.
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