For two weeks in a row now, it was a new release that beat out the big 2024 carryovers to win the box office on a slow Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. However, it was a bit of a surprise that One of Them Days was the one to do it. The R-rated comedy overperformed to beat Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man, which debuted in the No. 3 spot behind Mufasa: The Lion King. Speaking of the sequel to the live-action Disney remake, Barry Jenkins’ film crossed a pretty big milestone this weekend, as did Moana 2.
Last week, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera became the first new release on the 2025 movie calendar to top the box office, but it took a pretty significant dive in Week 2. Check out the full chart below, and then I’ll break down all the numbers.
| TITLE | WEEKEND GROSS | DOMESTIC GROSS | LW | THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. One of Them Days* | $11,600,000 | $11,600,000 | N/A | 2,675 |
| 2. Mufasa: The Lion King | $11,530,000 | $205,828,338 | 2 | 3,555 |
| 3. Wolf Man* | $10,550,000 | $10,550,000 | N/A | 3,354 |
| 4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | $8,600,000 | $216,498,000 | 3 | 3,306 |
| 5. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera | $6,600,000 | $26,175,028 | 1 | 3,008 |
| 6. Moana 2 | $6,068,000 | $442,798,932 | 5 | 2,825 |
| 7. Nosferatu | $4,300,000 | $89,401,000 | 4 | 2,545 |
| 8. A Complete Unknown | $3,796,000 | $57,575,001 | 6 | 2,500 |
| 9. Wicked | $3,550,000 | $464,512,000 | 7 | 2,352 |
| 10. Babygirl | $2,021,674 | $25,365,389 | 8 | 1,460 |
It Was A Good Day For Keke Palmer And SZA, While Wolf Man Showed More Bark Than Bite
Keke Palmer and SZA’s characters in One of Them Days may have been worried about making rent, but the movie from producer Issa Rae and Insecure writer Syreeta Singleton did not have similar issues regarding cash flow. The Numbers reports that the buddy comedy earned an estimated $11.6 million through the first three days of the long weekend and was projected to reach $14 million by Monday’s end, per Variety. That’s higher than the $8 million-to-$13 million range that had been anticipated.
Critics were all-in on One of Them Days, with our own Sarah El-Mahmoud rating it 3.5 stars out of 5 in the CinemaBlend review. The film holds a 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes with an A- on CinemaScore. That means it should continue to attract an audience through word-of-mouth advertising, and I’m optimistic that we’ll see a Week 2 drop on the smaller side. Either way, it’s well on its way to recouping the mere $14 million it took to make.
Wolf Man may have a harder road ahead of it. The movie was estimated to be behind the $12 million projections for the four-day weekend, accumulating $10.6 million from Friday to Sunday. It added $4.8 million in international markets, and with a budget of $25 million before marketing, its Week 2 numbers are going to be a big indicator of whether or not it can make it out of the red.
Critics were mixed on the horror flick (CinemaBlend’s review of Wolf Man by Eric Eisenberg garnered only 2 out of 5 stars), so word-of-mouth may not get as many butts in seats as the other offerings in this week’s Top 10, but there are always people seeking out upcoming horror movies, and again, with its pretty conservative budget, it doesn’t need to be one of the best horror movies of all time to be deemed a success.
Moana 2 Crosses $1 Billion In Worldwide Ticket Sales, While Mufasa: The Lion King Passes $200 Million Domestically
It was a big week for Disney sequels, as Moana 2, which has spent eight weekends in the Top 10 and is only now dropping out of the Top 5, crossed into 10-digit territory on the global box office, with a reported $1.012 billion, per Box Office Mojo. That makes it the third 2024 Disney property to break into the billions behind Inside Out 2 ($1.7 billion) and Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.3 billion).
Mufasa: The Lion King also has plenty of reason to roar, as it just barely missed climbing back to the No. 1 spot domestically this week (and after those estimated numbers are finalized, it very well might) with its $11.5 million. Either way, that was enough to push it to $205.8 million after five weeks in theaters, reaching that $200 million milestone just a little slower than Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which was released the same weekend and also remains in the Top 5.
Den Of Thieves Sequel Falls To Fifth Place In Second Weekend
The news wasn’t great for all sequels this weekend. After Den of Thieves 2: Pantera topped the box office last week, it dropped 56% in its second Friday-to-Sunday stretch, adding just $6.6 million to its domestic total. International numbers didn’t give it a huge boost, either, adding just $5 million after two weekends for total worldwide earnings in the low $30 millions.
Deadline reports the heist film starring Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. cost $40 million to make and another $20 million advertise, there's no doubt Lionsgate was counting on a lengthy run in theaters to be able to earn that back. The first Den of Thieves flick in 2018 topped $80 million globally by the end of its theatrical run. I'd say it's not looking good for the sequel to repeat those results, especially considering what's coming with next week’s releases.
Not only will January 24 see the release of the Mel Gibson-helmed Flight Risk starring Mark Wahlberg, but the espionage action movie Inheritance with Phoebe Dynevor and Rhys Ifans. Both movies are likely on the radar of fans of the action genre and could pull ticket sales away from Christian Gudegast’s sequel.
It will be interesting to see how things shake out as more 2025 movies take hold and try to unseat the 2024 hits like Wicked, Nosferatu and the other aforementioned family-friendly films that continue to defy gravity. Be sure to check out our analysis next Sunday for the latest Box Office numbers and what they all mean.
