While it is enjoying some of the best reception any film has earned this year, Warner Bros.’ “One Battle After Another” still faces an extremely long road to profitability after an $8.8 million opening day from 3,634 locations, putting it on pace for a $21 million opening weekend.
That is on the lower end of projections for director Paul Thomas Anderson’s first wide release, though there had been some hopes from exhibitors and rival distributors that the movie would open to $25 million or more. Instead, it is opening a couple steps below the $23.2 million opening for lead star Leonardo DiCaprio’s last film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” in 2023.
“Killers,” which like “One Battle After Another” had a tentpole-level budget, grossed $158.8 million at the global box office. “One Battle” has been reported to have a production spend of at least $130 million.
Even the best-case scenario for “One Battle” involves the film’s wild critical acclaim attracting moviegoers who aren’t familiar with Anderson’s work over the course of October and beyond. Largely driven by urban audiences, the opening night crowd for the film has given the movie excellent scores with an A on CinemaScore and a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 87% to go with a 97% from critics.
And with its already sealed status as an Oscar contender, the possibility now opens for Warner Bros. to find higher post-theatrical value from “One Battle” on premium on-demand and on HBO Max. But it’s going to be at least another weekend and likely longer before it is revealed whether the film has earned any substantial audience traction.
Regardless of how it does, “One Battle After Another” caps off a wildly successful year for Warner Bros., as it is currently leading all studios as the first one to cross $4 billion at the global box office this year. That is off the back of seven straight movies with domestic openings of $40 million or more, including its top grosser “A Minecraft Movie,” Apple blockbuster “F1,” DC’s reboot title “Superman,” a trio of New Line horror films led by “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” and another Oscar contender with “Sinners.”
More to come…
