Box Office: ‘A Working Man’ Hammers in $5.6 Million Opening Day in Race Against ‘Snow White’ for No. 1

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In its second week, Disney’s “Snow White” remake could potentially soften enough to allow Amazon MGM’s action film “A Working Man” to debut as the top-grossing movie at the box office. However, this tight competition for the first spot would result in relatively small earnings. Other new releases like A24’s “Death of a Unicorn” and Universal’s “The Woman in the Yard” are expected to have less impressive openings.

On Friday, “The Working Man,” an R-rated action conspiracy thriller starring Jason Statham and directed by David Ayer, brought in $5.6 million from 3,262 theaters, including previews. Some high-end cinemas like Dolby and 4DX are also charging premium prices for tickets to this movie, which is a follow-up to their previous collaboration on “The Beekeeper” made last year.

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On its opening day last Friday, the R-rated action conspiracy thriller “A Working Man,” starring Jason Statham and directed by David Ayer, grossed $5.6 million across 3,262 theaters, including preview screenings. Premium large-format auditoriums such as Dolby and 4DX are also offering boosted ticket prices for this movie, which is a follow-up to their collaboration on “The Beekeeper” from last year.

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On Friday, the R-rated action conspiracy thriller “A Working Man,” starring Jason Statham and directed by David Ayer, generated $5.6 million across 3,262 theaters, including preview showings. Some premium large-format cinemas like Dolby and 4DX are additionally charging higher ticket prices for this film, which is a sequel to their collaboration on “The Beekeeper” from last year.

The upcoming film “Working Man” is projected to earn approximately $15.6 million in its opening weekend. This debut is slightly lower than the $16 million opening weekend earned by “The Beekeeper” in January 2024, which eventually multiplied and grossed $66 million domestically and over $160 million globally. While critics and audiences are not as enthusiastic for “Working Man” as they were for “Beekeeper” (as per Cinema Score, it received a “B” grade), its opening numbers might be smaller. However, even with lower earnings, it’s still a promising start for “A Working Man” and producer Black Bear, and further supports Jason Statham’s reputation as an actor with a strong theatrical draw in today’s film industry.

Even if “Snow White” manages to hold the second spot in its second week, the Disney film isn’t displaying the longevity required for it to be a hit at the box office. On its first day, it made $3.7 million, and it’s predicted to earn around $14 million over the weekend, which represents a significant 65% drop from its opening weekend earnings, which were already lower than initial expectations.

It seems unlikely that “Snow White” will surpass the earnings of Disney’s 2019 version of “Dumbo,” which only managed $114 million domestically and $353 million globally, despite costing significantly less than the $250 million budget for this latest production. This could suggest that Disney’s trend of re-imagining its classic animated films in live-action might be reaching saturation point, or perhaps remakes of movies dating back nearly 90 years aren’t immediately appealing to contemporary audiences. Fortunately for Disney, they have the more relatable “Lilo & Stitch” remake set for release in May.

This weekend, theaters will premiere a franchise opening for “The Chosen: Last Supper,” which signifies the start of Season 5 in the television adaptation by 5&2 Studios based on the life of Jesus Christ. As suggested by the title, this Biblical series is nearing its dramatic turning point, the betrayal. Fathom Entertainment, a specialized distributor, will roll out this new season to theaters as a multi-week event, showing the first two episodes in 2,234 theaters starting from this weekend.

In its initial release, “The Chosen: Last Supper” has already grossed $5 million during its opening and previews, indicating it could surpass the $7.2 million record set by “The Chosen” Season 4 (Episodes 1-3) in February 2024. Fathom Events plans to showcase additional packages of new episodes leading up to Easter within the coming weeks.

Although “The Chosen” continues to thrive in cinemas, “Last Supper” signifies Fathom’s farewell to the series. This is because 5&2 Studios and global distributor Lionsgate have struck a deal with Amazon to broadcast the last two episodes as feature-length films on their streaming platform. While these are special television episodes rather than Hollywood movies, theaters will soon lose a dependable, niche hit to streaming services.

Moving lower down the box office rankings, the PG-13 horror movie “The Woman in the Yard” from Universal isn’t attracting many viewers so far, having grossed $3.6 million on Friday and previews from 2,842 theaters. The Blumhouse production, featuring Danielle Deadwyler and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, is expected to finish in fourth place. Although it has some critical acclaim among film connoisseurs, reviews are generally unfavorable and audiences aren’t responding well (receiving a “C-” grade on CinemaScore). However, like other Blumhouse productions, “The Woman in the Yard” wasn’t a significant financial commitment, with a budget of only $12 million.

As a movie enthusiast, I’m excited to share that A24 is venturing into the realm of stardust-filled comedy this weekend with “Death of a Unicorn.” With its horn firmly planted in fifth position, it’s clear that audiences are intrigued. This bloody ensemble piece boasts an impressive cast featuring Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, and Téa Leoni, who graces the screen for the first time in over a decade. Over the course of Friday and previews, “Death of a Unicorn” raked in approximately $2.2 million from 3,050 theaters nationwide.

Critics didn’t show much excitement for “Unicorn” following its premiere at SXSW recently, and it doesn’t seem to be gaining traction among viewers either (earning a “B-” from CinemaScore). Unfortunately, this marks another missed opportunity for A24, as their horror satire “Opus” also fell flat earlier in the month. However, they plan to give it another go with the military thriller “Warfare,” set for release in April.

This weekend, “Princess Mononoke,” Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 classic, is being shown in 4K restoration by Gkids in 330 locations, including Imax theaters alongside “Snow White.” Following a week of AI entrepreneurs promoting Studio Ghibli imitations online, genuine fans of the original artists are enthusiastically attending this nearly 20-year-old film in cinemas. Predictions suggest that “Mononoke” will earn approximately $3.8 million over the weekend. In contrast, its initial 1999 U.S. release only garnered $2.3 million throughout its entire run, showcasing the increased interest in Japanese animation among Western audiences over the years.

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2025-03-29 18:17