‘Mufasa’ Roars and ‘One of Them Days’ Starts Strong Despite Weak Box Office for MLK Day Weekend

This is discouraging. Despite a better than expected showing by “One of Them Days” (Sony), with $11.6 million in three days for the $14 million, Issa Rae-produced R-rated comedy, this was a pathetic box office for a weekend ahead of MLK Day.

The mid-January holiday usually kickstarts the new year, with grosses pre-Covid usually $150 million total or higher at lower ticket prices. This year? Around $77 million. That’s lower than any year unadjusted for inflation this century, with attendance totals about half of the standard before 2021.

It wouldn’t have helped a lot, but “Wolf Man,” meant to build on the Universal Monsters reboot started by “The Invisible Man” five years ago, with $10.5 million came in substantially below its expected opening of up to $20 million.

‘I’m Still Here’©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Also hurting was the delay in Oscar nominations, originally scheduled for last Friday, now delayed a week. Distributors for at least 20 films listed here made strategic decisions on how to capitalize this weekend, then saw the plans go awry. Most planning to expand did, but the change likely cost theaters several million dollars in gross. Despite that, significant contenders “The Brutalist” (A24) and the debuting “I’m Still Here” (Sony Pictures Classics) led among the positive results.

For three days, with only a $70,000 estimated lead over “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Disney), figure for now “One of Them Days” is in a virtual tie for #1. When actuals come in, that could change, but both studios agree that “Mufasa,” with kids out of school on Monday and families looking for something to do, will lead for the four days ($15.5 million to $14 million). Barry Jenkins’ foray into big time studio franchise work has passed $200 million domestic and is nearing $600 million worldwide. Not shabby for a film whose initial grosses were considered disappointing.

With its low budget, A- Cinemascore, and potential for a strong hold, “One of Them Days” shows again the potential for studios to succeed with something original, as well as aim at a female audience. Theaters need a steady stream of these, even if to many executives they seem like bigger risks than $150 million franchise entries.

Five years ago, we thought the same thing when “The Invisible Man,” like “Wolf Man” from Leigh Whannell, opened to $28 million, with a $70 million U.S./Canada total reduced by COVID-19 closings (it was the last major film to open). Blumhouse still kept this inexpensive ($25 million, compared to $7 million for the previous film). But “Wolf Man” was expected to be the top opening this month, making this result a severe disappointment. It also brings into question how many more in this once-promising series will follow.

“The Brutalist” fell only $20,000 behind “Babygirl,” another A24 release, for tenth place. It did so with a just under $2 million in 338 theaters, 270 of the new. That puts the leading Oscar contender at $5.4 million before the nominations and wider expansion.

The Brazilian “I’m Still Here,” a dark horse awards contender gaining momentum following Fernanda Torres’ surprise Golden Globe win, grossed $125,000 in five New York/Los Angeles theaters. That’s a $25,000 per theater average. That’s impressive these days for a non-English film in America, more so since — unlike as intended — it opened before the nominations.

‘September 5’©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Notable among other expansions, all of which would be well-served to get some nomination boosts: “September 5” (Paramount) did $365,000 in 105 theaters, “The Room Next Door” (Sony Pictures Classics) $659,485 in 861, “Hard Truths” (Bleecker Street) $153,197 in 121, and “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM) $297,000 in 240. A24 brought “Sing Sing” back for $239,533 in 560, while “The Substance” (MUBI) added $243,000 in 481.

“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” (Lionsgate), last weekend’s #1, dropped to fifth, $6.6 million, down 56 percent. “Moana 2” (Disney) fell only 7 percent for sixth place. “Nosferatu” (Focus) was seventh, now over $89 million, with “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight) #8, at $57.6 million. “Wicked” (Universal), at $464.5 million was ninth, with “Babygirl” tenth (over $25 million so far).

Top 10

1. One of Them Days (Sony) NEW – Cinemascore: A-; Metacritic: 73; Est. budget: $14 million

$11,600,000 in 2,675 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $4,336; Cumulative: $11,600,000

2. Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney) Week 5; Last weekend #2

$11,530,000 (-19%) in 3,555 (-55) theaters; PTA: $3,243; Cumulative: $205,828,000

3. Wolf Man (Universal) NEW – Cinemascore: C-; Metacritic: 5; Est. budget: $25 million

$10,550,000 in 3,354 theaters; PTA: $3,145; Cumulative: $10,500,000

4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Paramount) Week 5; Last weekend #3

$8,600,000 (-24%) in 3,306 (-276) theaters; PTA: $2,601; Cumulative: $216,500,000

5. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (Lionsgate) Week 2; Last weekend #1

$6,600,000 (-56%) in 3,008 (no change) theaters; PTA: $2,194; Cumulative: $26,175,000

6. Moana 2 (Disney) Week 8; Last weekend #5

$6,068,000 (-7%) in 2,825 (-245) theaters; PTA: $2,148; Cumulative: $442,799,000

7. Nosferatu (Focus) Week 4; Last weekend #4

$4,300,000 (-38%) in 2,545 (-247) theaters; PTA: $1,690; Cumulative: $89,401,000

8. A Complete Unknown (Searchlight) Week 4; Last weekend #7

$3,796,000 (-26%) in 2,500 (-310) theaters; PTA: $1,518; Cumulative: $2,992,000

9. Wicked (Universal) Week 8; Last weekend #6; also on PVOD

$3,550,000 (-31%) in 2,352 (-615) theaters; PTA: $1,509; Cumulative: $464,510,000

10. Babygirl (A24) Week 4; Last weekend #8

$2,022,000 (-%) in 1,460 (-427) theaters; PTA: $1,385; Cumulative: $24,375,000

Other specialized/independent titles

Films (limited, expansions of limited) are listed by week in release, starting with those opened this week; after the first three weeks, only films with grosses over $5,000 are listed. Metacritic scores and initial film festivals recorded when available. After week two, per theater averages only listed for expanding films with under 100 theaters.

OPENING (platform)

I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics) NEW – Metacritic: 84; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto 2024

$125,409 at 5 theaters; PTA: $25,082; Cumulative (including qualifying week): $153,078

Grand Theft Hamlet (MUBI) NEW – Metacritic:; Festivals include: South by Southwest

$79,000 at 75 theaters; PTA: $1,053

Autumn and the Black Jaguar (Blue Fox) NEW – Metacritic:; Festivals include:

$171,000 at 605 theaters; PTA: $200

HOLDOVERS

The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions) Week 2

$893,030 in 946 (+76) theaters; PTA: $944; Cumulative: $3,145,000

Hard Truths (Bleecker Street) Week 2

$153,197 in 121 (+99) theaters; PTA: $1,266; Cumulative: $383,151

Better Man (Paramount) Week 3

$255,000 in 1,290 (-1) theaters; Cumulative: $1,800,000

Vermiglio (Sideshow/Janus) Week 4

$16,800 in 11 (+8) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $106,312

The Brutalist (A24) Week 4

$1,982,000 in 338 (+272) theaters; PTA: $; Cumulative: $5,447,000

The Room Next Door (Sony Pictures Classics) Week 4

$659,485 in 861 (+817) theaters; PTA: $766:; Cumulative: $1,360,000

Nickel Boys (MGM Amazon) Week 5

$297,000 in 240 (+214) theaters; PTA: $ ; Cumulative: $949,000

September 5 (Paramount) Week 5

$365,000 in 121 (+101) theaters; Cumulative: $777,000

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Neon) Week 7

$35,650 in 20 (+1) theaters; Cumulative: $429,751

Flow (Janus/Sideshow) Week 8; also on VOD

$224,500 in 325 (+125) theaters; Cumulative: $3,369,000

All We Imagine as Light (Janus/Sideshow) Week 9

$38,000 in 34 (-17) theaters; Cumulative: $910,490

A Real Pain (Searchlight) Week 11; also on PVOD

$64,000 in 55 (-15) theaters; Cumulative: $8,136,000

Conclave (Focus) Week 12; also on VOD and streaming

$144,000 in 542 (+474) theaters; Cumulative: $31,694,000

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat (Kino Lorber) Week 12

$13,620 in 9 theaters; Cumulative: $222,708

Anora (Neon) Week 13; also on PVOD

$183,000 in 536 (+525) theaters; Cumulative: $14,803,000

The Substance (MUBI) Week 18; also streaming and on VOD

$243,000 in 481 theaters; Cumulative: $16,724,000

Sing Sing (A24) Week 28

$239,533 in 560 (+560) theaters; Cumulative: $3,002,000