Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” surpasses expectations with a $51 million holiday opening, while Sony’s “Madame Web” struggles with a $25.8 million debut.
Highlights
- “Bob Marley: One Love” dominates the box office with a $27.7 million weekend and $51 million over the six-day holiday.
- “Madame Web” opens to a lackluster $17.6 million weekend and $25.8 million for the holiday period.
- The Presidents’ Day weekend sees historically low revenues, with overall domestic gross at its lowest in 23 years.
Paramount’s musical biopic “Bob Marley: One Love” made a strong debut, earning $27.7 million over the traditional weekend and $51 million during the six-day holiday stretch—surpassing initial projections of $30 million to $35 million.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley, the film resonated with audiences, receiving an “A” CinemaScore. Despite a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film’s global tally reached an impressive $80 million, with $29 million from overseas markets.
Disappointing Performance: “Madame Web”
Sony’s “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson, faced a challenging opening, securing second place with $17.6 million over the weekend and $25.8 million for the holiday period. With a production cost of $80 million, the film’s future looks uncertain, especially given its “C+” CinemaScore and a dismal 13% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Madame Web” continues a troubling trend for superhero adaptations in 2023, following other underperforming titles like “The Marvels” and “The Flash”.
Historical Low for Presidents’ Day Weekend
The box office experienced one of its weakest Presidents’ Day weekends in modern history, with total domestic revenues of approximately $75 million for three days and $89 million for four days. This marks a significant decline from previous years, with last year’s holiday led by “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” bringing in $168 million.
The downturn highlights a challenging period for the film industry, with audiences showing less enthusiasm for new releases.
In other box office news, “Argylle” and “Migration” took third and fourth places, respectively, while “Wonka” continued its successful run, remaining in the top five for the 10th consecutive weekend. The faith-based TV series “The Chosen” also made an impact, although its latest episodes saw a decline in ticket sales compared to its opening.
As the film industry navigates a changing landscape, the success of “Bob Marley: One Love” and the struggles of “Madame Web” offer contrasting narratives. While musical biopics continue to find favor with audiences, superhero films face increasing scrutiny and challenges in maintaining their once-dominant position at the box office.
