You got it; folks begged for it. Now, it’s a demand issue.
What is the case to be made here? Originals have been shooting back into the theatrical box office since the beginning of 2025, but folks have not been products ones are keen to see (unless it’s a marketable IP, event movie, or brand-new concept). And PVOD, since COVID, has crept into the field by offering affordable and convenient products at folks’ homesteads rather than the allure of dancing out to the multiplex for something to “be witnessed on the big screen.” Folks are more interested in Marvel, Barbie, or nostalgia than branded household names like Margot Robbie, Chris Evans, or Zoe Saldana. Sure, you can make bank as “Ken’ in Barbie, but being the second-hand command for Ryan Gosling doesn’t translate for The Fall Guy. Mark Wahlberg can undoubtedly make an impact as the lead name for Ted or Pain & Gain, but tampering with a bunch of PVOD titles (Me Time, Infinite, The Family Plan, The Union), unfortunately, washes away your drawing power. Dwayne Johnson may be one of the most prominent businessmen in the world, but unless you’re coasting on Moana or Fast and Furious, your numbers don’t increase if you play the same role in every other new title in theaters or on PVOD.
The good news is that Hollywood knows that theatrical releases perform better financially than ones tossed onto PVOD. The first quarter of 2025 has dropped some good-quality movies that are making some profits in a tentpole-lite market. But the numbers aren’t enough for what theaters need to be sustainable, especially when this weekend’s domestic total only tops $52 million (which is lower during the beginning onslaught of the pandemic five years ago on the same weekend, when the domestic total was slightly sub-$54 million).
Anyway, the positively rated Novocaine earned the top spot at the box office with $8.7 million. Being budgeted at $18 million is a staggeringly massive benefit for this work, as it won’t have a mountain to climb to recoup its losses. Positive reviews and a B from CinemaScore won’t amount to pain-free legs, but they should be enough for it to hold on.
Mickey 17 fell 60% in its second weekend with $7.51 million; Warner Brothers’ latest work is already heading to PVOD before we know it, which means this will be a bust in a barren marketplace. The film has trotted to $67.3 million worldwide on a $118 million budget. Newcomer Black Bag earned $7.5 million in its debut, and The Last Supper took in $2.825 million.
Captain America: Brave New World will pass $400 million worldwide sometime by next weekend, while Paddington in Peru will stretch itself across the water to get as close to $200 million worldwide. Dog Man has passed $125 million worldwide.
Next weekend, we will see the live-action version of Snow White, The Alto Knights, Ash, The Assessment, Magazine Dreams, and Bob Trevino Likes It.
