As we predicted earlier this week, One Battle After Another got off to a solid start at the box office this weekend. The $22.4 million gross marks a career high for director P.T. Anderson, although with a budget somewhere in the $130–150 million range, long-term profitability is still a question mark. That said, the movie sports an excellent A CinemaScore rating, suggesting word-of-mouth will be massive, as will the Oscar buzz expected to follow it all season long—assuming the studio doesn’t preemptively put it out on VOD or Max. Warner Bros. has had success opening adult-targeted awards dramas in the fall, and the thought is that One Battle After Another may perform similarly to a pair of Ben Affleck movies, The Town and Argo, both of which opened in a similar range (but cost much less) and ended up having strong legs at the box office, becoming popular catalog titles.
Thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio’s starring role, the movie is also posting a strong showing at the international box office, grossing enough to give it a worldwide opening of just under $50 million. Notably, this is the ninth WB movie of the year to open at number one at the box office, with the studio in the middle of a storied run that arguably began with A Minecraft Movie, continued with Sinners, and has paid off with releases like F1, Superman, Weapons, and more.
DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse, which some believed could actually take the box office crown this weekend, had a more modest $13.7 million opening than expected. This could be because the young female audience is saving their allowances for Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl release party event, which goes wide next weekend.
The anime smash Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle dropped to third place this weekend, earning $6.8 million for a $117.8 million domestic total—a game changer for anime and distributor Crunchyroll. Right behind it was The Conjuring: Last Rites, which added $6.8 million to its domestic tally for a stunning $161 million total. Its $400 million–plus international take has already made it the eighth highest-grossing horror film of all time.
Sadly, Renny Harlin, after scoring a sleeper hit with The Strangers: Chapter 1, had a flop with the sequel, Chapter 2, which only made $5.9 million this weekend. Will the already-shot third film get a theatrical release after this opening? We’ll have to wait and see. Another disappointment is the Jordan Peele–produced Him, which fell a massive 72 percent in week two for a $3.6 million weekend and a $20.7 million total. Another genre title, The Long Walk, has performed better, making $3.4 million this weekend for a $28 million domestic total. Meanwhile, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale continued to draw an older audience with a $3.3 million gross and a $39 million domestic total.
Coming in at number nine is the Telugu-language Indian action film They Call Him OG, which made $1.42 million for a $5 million–plus domestic gross. Finally, the Colin Farrell/Margot Robbie flop A Big Bold Beautiful Journey wrapped up its short run with $1.25 million and a $5.9 million domestic total. Certainly, that movie’s performance is a worst-case scenario for Sony.
What did you see this weekend? Let us know in the comments!