‘Wolf Man,’ Keke Palmer Comedy ‘One of Them Days’ Compete for Box Office Crown Over Holiday Weekend

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Over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, both the reboot of “The Wolf Man” by Universal and Blumhouse, as well as the comedy movie “One of Them Days” starring Keke Palmer, will be in strong competition for the number one position at the box office.

Despite both movies potentially leading the box office this weekend, neither is anticipated to see a high volume of ticket sales in North American cinemas, which seem to be remaining relatively quiet once again. “The Wolf Man” is projected to earn around $17 million to $21 million from 3,300 screens over the four-day period, while “One of Those Days” is expected to take in approximately $8 million to $13 million from 2,650 theaters during that same timeframe.

Both Universal and Sony postponed the release of “Wolf Man” and “One of Them Days”, respectively, due to the destructive wildfires and strong winds in Los Angeles. Despite this, it seems that moviegoers’ attendance hasn’t been significantly impacted by the ongoing fires in LA, one of the major cinematic markets in the U.S. LA accounted for 8% of the domestic box office over the weekend compared to the previous week before the fire outbreak, while AMC theaters in Century City, Burbank, and The Grove, along with Regal Irvine, were among the highest-grossing cinemas in the nation. However, businesses took a hit of about 50% in venues near the fire zones, such as AMC Americana Glendale, AMC Universal Citywalk, and AMC Santa Anita Arcadia.

In the upcoming film “The Wolf Man,” Christopher Abbot takes on the lead role, with director Leigh Whannell providing a modern twist on the 1941 story about a man who is attacked by an unknown beast and starts transforming into a menacing creature, putting his family’s lives at risk. Initially, Ryan Gosling was slated to star in the movie, collaborating with director Derek Cianfrance; however, they both exited the project in 2023 due to scheduling issues. At present, critiques for “The Wolf Man” are under wraps, and despite horror movies typically being immune to criticism at the box office, the year 2024 saw a lackluster performance by scary films. Therefore, “The Wolf Man” won’t just ride on the popularity of horror to become a surprise success; it also needs the audience to genuinely appreciate the film itself.

The movie titled “Wolf Man” is one of Universal’s recent endeavors to capitalize on their collection of timeless monster characters. Following the failure of their ambitious plan for a connected universe, known as the Dark Universe, with the financial disappointment of Tom Cruise’s 2017 film “The Mummy,” Universal has chosen to produce lower-budget, director-led standalone films – though with varying degrees of success. For instance, Leigh Whannell’s “The Invisible Man,” featuring Elisabeth Moss, was a hit, grossing $143 million worldwide in 2020. On the other hand, “Renfield,” starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his deranged sidekick, fell flat with only $26 million in global revenue in 2023. The upcoming “Creature From the Black Lagoon” remake, directed by James Wan of “Aquaman,” will be Universal’s next attempt to breathe new life into their monster roster. In comparison to the hefty budgets of over $150 million that Universal had previously invested in films like “The Mummy,” “Wolf Man” was produced at a more modest cost of $25 million.

The movie titled ‘One of Them Days’ serves as an alternative to ‘Wolf Man’. This R-rated buddy comedy features Palmer and Grammy winner SZA in her first feature film role, where they play roommates desperately trying to prevent eviction when one of their boyfriends runs off with their rent money. Issa Rae was a producer for this film, which was directed by Lawrence Lamont and written by Syreeta Singleton, known from ‘Insecure’ and ‘Rap Shit’.

Comedies meant for the stage are becoming increasingly scarce; however, Sony’s “No Hard Feelings,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, successfully attracted audiences, whereas other comedies such as Neon’s “Babes” featuring Ilana Glazer from “Broad City,” Amazon MGM’s “My Old Ass” and “Bottoms” with Ayo Edebiri from “The Bear,” faced difficulties in ticket sales despite favorable critiques. Consequently, Sony decided to keep production costs low for their next project, “One of Them Days,” co-financed by Macro Film Studios, spending approximately $14 million on its production.

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2025-01-14 23:18