An objectively disappointing tally for the big Superbowl weekend is upon us, and despite being higher than last year’s $39 total domestic weekend, this is still a frown on full force and effect for a $58 million domestic total for the weekend.
COVID variables can’t be tossed into the equation any further, as in 2020 (before the variables radically shook the market), films like Bad Boys for Life were kicking numbers for R-rated openings while Dolittle collapsed on a $83 million total weekend. To be fair and to highlight the hypocrisy (no offense) of audiences’ desires to move away from IP, most of the recent releases of 2025 have been brand-new concepts. One of Them Days, Flight Risk, and newcomers (this weekend) Heart Eyes and Love Hurts spring to mind. But, it seems like we’re awaiting the weight of America to be contested once Captain America: Brave New World bench-presses the remainder of the quarter.
Dog Man held the crown for the weekend with $13.7 million, but that’s the most significant drop for a DreamWorks toon (even more than Shrek the Third, Ruby Gillman, and Penguins of Madagascar). It’s an erratic case to examine, as Super Bowl weekend doesn’t usually serve as a detriment to box office numbers like this. Maybe it’s a Dungeons and Dragons redux; good reviews can’t will a good box office in the wrong distribution time. In any other case, it still has the momentum to head towards $100 million domestically (unless the competition begs more attention).
Newcomer Heart Eyes earned strong reviews and second place with $8.5 million; another high-concept original that could’ve earned more than what online pundits claim: “Super Bowl takes precedence than a new product in theaters.” We’re still amid the post-leg runs for Mufasa and Sonic 3, and a DreamWorks feature is leading the pack, so this is more of another instance where audiences are not doing enough to set aside time for new products devoid of major IP infringements. Other newcomer, Love Hurts, nabbed $5.8 million with lousy reviews. What seemed like a big thank you to Mr. Ke Huy Quan instead served as a muddiness of genres tied together, and folks probably were more receptive to seeing how Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx reunited at home with Back in Action. How the tables have turned, indeed.
Mufasa: The Lion King has surpassed Sonic 3 in domestic figures. This is good news for another run-of-the-mill live-action adaptation, and here’s to Snow White‘s glory(?). Companion and One of Them Days earned $3 million this weekend. And Flight Risk will reach $40 million worldwide by next weekend.
On a final note, China’s Ze Na 2 has ballooned past $1 billion worldwide, making it the first non-English film to do so, and it broke a 21-year-old record for an animated movie breaking this benchmark that Disney or Universal didn’t produce. Oh, and it earned all that money from one single market (The Force Awakens bows down to you, too).
Next weekend sees the release of Captain America: Brave New World, The Gorge, The Dead Thing, Rounding, and You, Me & Her.
