Reinaldo Marcus Green's Bob Marley: One Love earned a lot of the titular emotion during its first weekend in release. Critics weren't exactly blown away by the biopic pre-release, but multiple metrics demonstrated that movie-goers were enjoying the story and the message that the film features. Those same metrics suggested that the feature would have a strong second weekend in terms of ticket sales, and that has panned out as the early numbers are coming in.
Once again, Bob Marley: One Love is the biggest movie in theaters domestically, and you can find the details of its weekend box office win in the chart below. Check out the full Top 10 and then join me after for analysis.
| TITLE | WEEKEND GROSS | DOMESTIC GROSS | LW | THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Bob Marley: One Love | $13,500,000 | $71,189,000 | 1 | 3,597 |
| 2. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To the Hashira Training | $11,575,000 | $11,575,000 | N/A | 1,949 |
| 3. Ordinary Angels | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | N/A | 3,020 |
| 4. Madame Web | $6,000,000 | $35,446,000 | 2 | 4,013 |
| 5. Migration | $3,000,000 | $120,446,000 | 4 | 2,434 |
| 6. Argylle | $2,800,000 | $41,692,000 | 3 | 3,060 |
| 7. Wonka | $2,535,000 | $214,547,000 | 6 | 2,203 |
| 8. Drive-Away Dolls | $2,400,000 | $2,400,000 | N/A | 2,280 |
| 9. The Beekeeper | $1,962,113 | $63,144,546 | 7 | 2,157 |
| 10. The Chosen: Season 4 Episodes 4-6 | $1,825,115 | $7,899,127 | 5 | 2,079 |
Bob Marley: One Love Experiences A Solid 53 Percent Weekend-To-Weekend Drop
To offer some context, Bob Marley: One Love didn't exactly have a record-setting debut. From Friday to Sunday, it brought in $28.7 million, which would have made it the 30th biggest opening of 2023 had it come out last year. That being said, it's clearly a film that at least a portion of the movie-going populace is excited about, and that's reflected in the soft drop in its second weekend.
In the past year, we've seen some major blockbusters plummet as much as 70 percent following their hyped theatrical arrivals, but if a film can limit that figure to 50 percent, it's generally considered a buzz and word-of-mouth victory. Bob Marley: One Love wasn't able to limit its dip quite that much, but a 53 percent difference is a positive development for the release.
After just a little over a week-and-a-half in theaters, Bob Marley: One Love is only about $1 million away from becoming the biggest domestic hit of 2024 – as its current total according to The Numbers sits behind Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.'s Mean Girls. Once it wins that title, it won't be one that it holds on to for long, as the biggest blockbuster of the year thus far is getting ready to drop in wide release this coming Friday (more on that coming at the end of this feature).
Worldwide, things are going swimmingly. Thus far, the movie has made $39.7 million abroad, and that means that Bob Marley: One Love has become the third Hollywood-produced release of the year to gross nine-figures worldwide – the other two being the aforementioned Mean Girls ($100.5 million) and David Ayer's The Beekeeper ($123.1 million). Competition will chip away at its legs in the coming weeks, as even just a cursory look the 2024 Movie Release Calendar informs one that March will be the busiest blockbuster month of the year thus far, but it's made a lot of money in a short amount of time.
With a reported budget in the $70 million range not counting publicity and marketing (via Variety), Bob Marley: One Love's $110.9 million worldwide earnings aren't quite significant enough yet to call the film a big box office win, but its on its way to a good place financially.
Unlike Bob Marley, Madame Web Takes A Big Dip In Its Second Weekend
Executing the opposite of the storyline constructed above is S.J. Clarkson's Madame Web. The film was the target of mockery for months even before its release – with social media making a meme out of one particularly terrible line in the trailer – and things didn't exactly get better once people got to see the thing (as reflected in his review, CinemaBlend's Dirk Libbey isn't a fan). This also isn't a case where audiences are championing the movie amid its critical pummeling, and we can see how that's working out for the would-be blockbuster in its second weekend.
Sony Pictures spent $80 million on the budget for Madame Web, and regular box office returns are showing why that wasn't a great idea. The movie had an awful debut, making just $15.3 million, and things are not improving. It has experienced a 61 percent weekend-to-weekend drop, and it only added $6 million to its domestic total in the last three days as it has fallen to fourth place on the Top 10.
Madame Web has made $35.4 million to date, and ticket sales from overseas are not improving its fate. The film hasn't hit theaters in China yet (that's happening this coming Friday), but it has only made $25.6 million from foreign markets thus far – bringing its worldwide total to just $61.1 million thus far.
As the same big screen competition I alluded to earlier rolls in, there is no expectation for Madame Web to experience a resurgence in the coming weeks; really, the only question left is in regard to how long it will be before the title drifts out of the Top 10.
In The Battle Of New Releases, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To The Hashira Training And Ordinary Angels Both Outperform Drive-Away Dolls
As far as the new releases are concerned from this past weekend, the box office saw a mixed bag. The big winner among the three titles Haruo Sotozaki's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To The Hashira Training – which has continued an impressive trend of anime on the big screen (other notable titles from the past few years including Tetsuro Kodama's Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and Sotozaki's first Demon Slayer movie from May 2021. Released by Crunchyroll, the film was able to land in second place this weekend making $11.6 million.
Jon Gunn's Ordinary Angels starring Reacher's Alan Ritchson sits right behind in on the Top 10 chart, but it's hard not to note that it did only about half as well in terms of ticket sales. Playing in over 3,000 locations, it was only barely able to beat out Madame Web. Still, it did quite a lot better than Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke's Drive-Away Dolls, which landed in eighth place making $2.4 million.
Looking ahead, the 2024 blockbuster drought is finally coming to an end, as Denis Villeneuve's star-studded sequel Dune: Part Two is heading to theaters everywhere – and as I note in my review for CinemaBlend, it's an experience that demands the big screen. Go see it as soon as you can in the best theater you can, and then head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday for my latest weekend box office report.
