Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio’s “One Battle After Another” faces a titanic — pun intended — challenge in the weeks ahead as Warner Bros. hopes to turn this weekend’s $22.4 million domestic/48.5 million worldwide opening into a lengthy theatrical run akin to the ones enjoyed by autumn Oscar contenders in decades past.
Reception for the politically charged thriller has been sky high across the board with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 96% critics and 86% audience along with an A on CinemaScore. But any pre-release interest drummed up by the talent attached and the glowing critical reviews seems predominantly amongst cinephiles, as this opening for “One Battle” is consistent with the $23.2 million opening of DiCaprio’s last film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in fall 2023.
With a reported budget of at least $130 million, “One Battle After Another” is one of Warner’s big gambles on high-budget original films by acclaimed filmmakers. That risk paid off in a big way this past spring with the $366 million theatrical run of “Sinners” and will be taken again next spring with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!”
By sheer virtue of being Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film with a wide release opening, “One Battle After Another” will easily become the highest grossing film of his career, passing the $77 million global total of “There Will Be Blood” in 2007. But the hope for Warner is that this film can leg out like many of the adult dramas that DiCaprio starred in during the 2010s, from “The Departed” to “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.
The weeks ahead will reveal whether there is still an appetite among the masses to see such performances from the Oscar winner in theaters, or if it is among the growing list of Hollywood offerings that most people choose to see on streaming if at all.
Also opening this weekend is Universal/DreamWorks’ “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” a film adaptation of DreamWorks’ hit Netflix kids’ series that earned a $13.7 million opening weekend. While lower than the $22.7 million opening of another movie based on a show for kids under 10, “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” “Gabby” should play well among moms and daughters over the next several weeks.
And like “Paw Patrol,” it is in merch sales where “Gabby’s Dollhouse” will make the majority of its money. Among the myriad partnerships Universal and DreamWorks have made with “Gabby’s Dollhouse” are ones with Lego, which created special playsets connected to the film, and Spin Master, which since the series’ debut in 2021 has sold over 4 million dollhouses.
Among holdovers, Sony/Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” and Warner/New Line’s “The Conjuring: Last Rites” are in a tight race for the No. 3 spot with $7.1 million for “Demon Slayer.” That puts the anime film past $600 million worldwide with an anime record $117 million domestic, as it is set to surpass the $615 million global run of “Superman” later this week.
“Conjuring” is right behind with $6.9 million in its fourth weekend, bringing it to a total of $161.5 million domestic and $435 million worldwide, both franchise records for “The Conjuring.”
Completing the top 5 is Lionsgate’s “The Strangers — Chapter 2,” the second part of a standalone relaunch trilogy of the 2008 home invasion slasher film. The film earned a $5.9 million opening weekend from 2,690 locations, half of the $11.8 million launch of “The Strangers — Chapter 1” in May 2024.
More to come…
