While Crunchyroll’s anime releaseOne Piece Film: Redwon a closely contested race at the Friday box office just by a hair, Warner Bros. and DC Films’ holdover superhero filmBlack Adamis expected to top the weekend by a considerable margin. TheDwayne Johnson-fronted action film has been dominating the box office for two weeks, and is looking to top $135 million domestically by Sunday.
That’s a so-so result for a film that is said to have cost upwards of $195 million to produce, minus marketing, and will face an existential threat in exactly one week with the arrival of Disney’s hugely anticipatedBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. WhileBlack Adammade $4.7 million on its third Friday, it came in around $100,000 short of the Japanese importOne Piece Film: Red –the 15th feature in a legendary franchise that also includes a television series that began over two decades ago and has aired over 1,000 episodes.
The specialty release’s success (no doubt aided by premium pricing at large format venues) continues a hot streak for anime titles at the domestic box office, after the back-to-back hitsDragon Ball Super: Super Heroearlier this year, andJujutsu Kaisen 0in 2021. Both those movies admittedly opened to around twice as much asOne Piece Film’s projected $10.3 million three-day debut, after a $4.8 million Friday (including $1.7 million from Thursday previews). The film is playing in Japanese with subtitles, and dubbed in English, in nearly 2,400 North American theaters.Black Adamis expected to hit $17 million in its third weekend.
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Claiming the third spot in its third weekend, Universal’sTicket to Paradiseclocked $2.5 million on Friday for an estimated $7 million weekend finish. StarringJulia RobertsandGeorge Clooneyas a warring divorced couple forced to reunite for their daughter’s sudden wedding, the romantic comedy is a bonafide hit with over $130 million globally and nearly $45 million stateside. Likewise, Paramount’s horror hitSmilemaintained its hold on the fourth spot on its sixth Friday, with $1.1 million. The film’s running domestic total now stands at over $96 million, and a $100 million-plus finish is a foregone conclusion — a tremendous result for a smartly marketed scary movie that cost $17 million and will probably make more than $200 million globally once the dust settles.
It was curtains for Universal’sHalloween Ends, which slipped out of the top five with $400,000 on its fourth Friday, taking its running domestic total to over $62 million. The top five was instead rounded out by another horror release, last week’sPrey for the Devil, which added $800,000 on its second Friday for an estimated $2.6 million sophomore weekend and a running domestic total of around $12 million.
Overall business was expectedly muted this weekend, as studios cleared the path for next week’sBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, which isexpected to deliver one of the best openings of the year. you’re able to watch our interview withWakanda ForeverdirectorRyan Cooglerhere, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
