In a surprising turn of events, Jason Statham’s action thriller, “A Working Man”, has dominated the box office, grossing an impressive $15.2 million during its opening weekend. Directed by David Ayer, known for his work on “Suicide Squad,” and produced by Amazon MGM, the film has successfully dethroned the previous box office champion, Disney’s “Snow White”, which experienced a significant drop of over 66% in its second week.
Disney’s live-action adaptation of the classic fairy tale started with a lackluster $45 million and has now fallen to the No. 2 position, earning $14.2 million from approximately 4,200 theaters. Starring Rachel Zegler as the titular princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, “Snow White” has accumulated a total of $66.8 million domestically and $143.1 million globally. However, with a production budget exceeding $250 million, excluding marketing costs, the film must maintain strong box office performance to justify its substantial investment.
Looking ahead, “Snow White” faces stiff competition for family audiences with the upcoming release of “A Minecraft Movie”, a video game adaptation by Warner Bros., set to open next weekend. Meanwhile, “A Working Man” has received mixed reviews, achieving a B grade on CinemaScore exit polls. In this gripping narrative, Statham portrays a decorated military veteran who comes out of retirement to rescue his boss’s kidnapped daughter from human traffickers.
This opening weekend performance is slightly behind Ayer and Statham’s previous collaboration with Amazon MGM, “The Beekeeper”, which debuted with $16 million. Ultimately, that film achieved a domestic total of $66 million and a global gross of $162 million.
In addition to “A Working Man”, three other films debuted nationwide, but none made a significant impact. Universal and Blumhouse’s horror film, “The Woman in the Yard”, came in at No. 3, earning a better-than-expected $11.5 million from 2,235 cinemas. This film chronicles the unsettling story of a family confronted by a mysterious woman in their yard. However, it received a C- grade on CinemaScore and holds a 39% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating a lack of appreciation from both critics and audiences.
Following closely, in the No. 4 position, “The Woman in the Yard” amassed $9.4 million from 2,842 cinemas during its first weekend. Fortunately, the film’s production budget was only $12 million, limiting potential losses. Rounding out the top five, A24’s horror comedy, “Death of a Unicorn”, garnered $5.8 million from 3,050 theaters. Starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega, this unique story follows a father and daughter dealing with the aftermath of accidentally killing a mythical creature.
In the limited release category, Bleecker Street’s drama “The Friend”, featuring Naomi Watts as a woman who adopts her friend’s Great Dane following his suicide, debuted on two screens in New York, earning $66,853 with an impressive per-screen average of $33,426. Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Classics opted for a wider release for “The Penguin Lessons”, a dramedy starring Steve Coogan, which opened across 1,017 screens to a total of $1.2 million.
As the box office continues to face challenges, overall ticket sales are currently 10.9% behind 2024’s figures and a staggering 39% behind 2019 levels, according to Comscore. With the upcoming releases and fluctuating audience preferences, the film industry is keeping a close eye on how these dynamics will shape future box office trends.
