'Novocaine' leads box office during numbingly slow weekend
Alona Yadav | Mar 17, 2025, 23:02 IST
( Image credit : AP )
The North American box office experienced its lowest-grossing weekend of the year with "Novocaine" leading at $8.7 million. "Mickey 17" and "Black Bag" followed closely, each earning $7.5 million. Other notable releases include "Captain America: Brave New World" and "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie."
The North American box office experienced its lowest-grossing weekend of the year so far, with total ticket sales expected to reach only around $54 million despite five new wide releases entering theaters.
"Novocaine," starring Jack Quaid as a man who cannot feel pain, claimed the top spot with a modest $8.7 million from 3,365 locations, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount Pictures. The R-rated action-comedy, directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, received positive critical reviews with an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though audience reactions were more moderate with a B CinemaScore. Including its $1.8 million from international markets, the film's global weekend total reached $10.5 million.
A tight race for second and third place saw "Mickey 17," the Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson science fiction film, narrowly edging out Steven Soderbergh's spy thriller "Black Bag," with both reporting $7.5 million weekends. "Mickey 17" continued playing in 3,807 theaters but experienced a steep 60% drop from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic total to $33.3 million and global haul to $90.5 million against a reported $118 million production budget.
"Black Bag," starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, opened in 2,705 theaters to strong reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes) but modest box office returns. The Focus Features release attracted an audience that skewed male (56%) and over 35 (59%), earning a B CinemaScore from viewers.
Disney and Marvel's "Captain America: Brave New World" took fourth place with $5.5 million in its fifth weekend, while the animated "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie" debuted in fifth with $3.2 million from 2,827 theaters. This Porky Pig and Daffy Duck feature was originally intended for the Max streaming service before Ketchup Entertainment handled its theatrical release.
Faith-based drama "The Last Supper" opened in sixth place with $2.8 million from 1,575 theaters, while A24's "Opus," starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, struggled with just $1 million from 1,764 screens, landing outside the top ten. The film, which premiered at Sundance to poor reviews, marks the directorial debut of Mark Anthony Green.
After a strong start to 2025 in which the box office was up 22%, several underperforming weekends have left the domestic market at a 5% deficit compared to last year.
"It's a momentum business," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. "It'll ratchet up with 'Snow White' next weekend. And the good news is we probably won't see the 50s again until August."
The weekend's top ten was rounded out by "Paddington in Peru," "Dog Man," "The Monkey," and "Last Breath," each earning between $2.3 million and $2.8 million.
"Novocaine," starring Jack Quaid as a man who cannot feel pain, claimed the top spot with a modest $8.7 million from 3,365 locations, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount Pictures. The R-rated action-comedy, directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, received positive critical reviews with an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes, though audience reactions were more moderate with a B CinemaScore. Including its $1.8 million from international markets, the film's global weekend total reached $10.5 million.
A tight race for second and third place saw "Mickey 17," the Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson science fiction film, narrowly edging out Steven Soderbergh's spy thriller "Black Bag," with both reporting $7.5 million weekends. "Mickey 17" continued playing in 3,807 theaters but experienced a steep 60% drop from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic total to $33.3 million and global haul to $90.5 million against a reported $118 million production budget.
"Black Bag," starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, opened in 2,705 theaters to strong reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes) but modest box office returns. The Focus Features release attracted an audience that skewed male (56%) and over 35 (59%), earning a B CinemaScore from viewers.
Disney and Marvel's "Captain America: Brave New World" took fourth place with $5.5 million in its fifth weekend, while the animated "The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie" debuted in fifth with $3.2 million from 2,827 theaters. This Porky Pig and Daffy Duck feature was originally intended for the Max streaming service before Ketchup Entertainment handled its theatrical release.
Faith-based drama "The Last Supper" opened in sixth place with $2.8 million from 1,575 theaters, while A24's "Opus," starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, struggled with just $1 million from 1,764 screens, landing outside the top ten. The film, which premiered at Sundance to poor reviews, marks the directorial debut of Mark Anthony Green.
After a strong start to 2025 in which the box office was up 22%, several underperforming weekends have left the domestic market at a 5% deficit compared to last year.
"It's a momentum business," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. "It'll ratchet up with 'Snow White' next weekend. And the good news is we probably won't see the 50s again until August."
The weekend's top ten was rounded out by "Paddington in Peru," "Dog Man," "The Monkey," and "Last Breath," each earning between $2.3 million and $2.8 million.