AMC’s “Release Party of a Showgirl,” the theatrical companion to the release of Taylor Swift’s new album, is set to earn $33 million at the box office this weekend after earning $15.8 million from 3,702 theaters on Friday with no Thursday preview screenings.
While roughly a third of the $93 million opening weekend of Swift’s 2023 smash hit “Eras Tour,” that was to be expected given that “Release Party of a Showgirl” is a lyric and music video compilation as opposed to the full concert film that “Eras Tour” was.
But like “Eras Tour,” this release party had virtually no marketing costs for AMC Theatres, as Swift’s immense social media presence did all the work getting the word out to the pop star’s loyal fans after the film was announced only two weeks ago.
It also serves as a needed replacement for theaters for Lionsgate’s “Michael,” which was previously set to release on this early October weekend but was moved to May 2026 to take advantage of an opportunity to become a summer launch title.
Taking second is Warner Bros.’ “One Battle After Another,” which is holding decently with an $11 million second weekend that’s a 50% drop from its $22 million opening. With just under $80 million grossed after eight days in theaters, it is already director Paul Thomas Anderson’s highest grossing film of his career.
But compared to past films from lead star Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle” is falling well short of his 2000s and 2010s offerings and is performing more consistent with the $68 million domestic/$158 million global total of his 2023 film “Killers of the Flower Moon.” This will mean that “One Battle” will likely have to ride its critical and cinephile acclaim to strong post-theatrical revenues to turn a profit, though the $4+ billion year Warner has had at the box office will cover any losses if it falls short.
The big dud of the week is A24’s “The Smashing Machine” with $2.6 million from 3,345 theaters on Friday, putting it in line for a $6.2 million opening weekend. For comparison, A24’s wrestling biopic “The Iron Claw” opened to $6.7 million over four days on Christmas weekend 2023 from 2,774 theaters.
While Dwayne Johnson has earned the best reviews of his career for his performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, “The Smashing Machine” is set to be the lowest opening weekend of his career, sliding below the $8.5 million 3-day Thanksgiving opening of his 2010 action film “Faster.”
Beyond his performance, reception for “The Smashing Machine” has been good but not great, earning Rotten Tomatoes scores of 73% critics and 79% audience alongside a B- on CinemaScore.
