Despite great reviews and word-of-mouth, Companion underwhelmed at the weekend box office, with Dog Man dominating.
The weekend numbers are in, and as expected, Dog Man easily topped the box office, with the Captain Underpants spin-off outperforming all expectations – including our own. The Universal/Dreamworks animated film made a solid $36 million this weekend, paving the way for a long run at the box office, with not too much in the way of competition for family audiences coming out until Captain America: Brave New World, which comes out on the President’s Day holiday weekend.
However, New Line’s Companion, which is earning buzzy reviews and atypically strong word-of-mouth for a genre film (it earned a B+ CinemaScore), had a disappointing opening, only making $9.5 million. Hollywood execs are no doubt scratching their heads over why a buzzy horror flick starring Yellowjackets’ Sophie Thatcher and The Boys’ Jack Quaid didn’t manage to open higher, especially given that it marks the directorial debut of Barbarian writer Drew Hancock. Some are pointing the finger at WB’s marketing department, with them seemingly unable to capture the zeitgeist in the way indie distributors like Neon or A24 have in recent years; with horror increasingly becoming more associated with indie labels, audiences have more faith in these days. For proof, look no further than Universal/ Blumhouse’s disastrous Wolf Man reboot, which is already out of the top 10.
There’s some faint hope Companion might be able to capitalize on word-of-mouth. Still, next weekend sees the release of a more easily classifiable horror flick, the slasher movie Heart Eyes, which may steal some of its thunder. Meanwhile, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King was in third place, with a $6.1 million weekend and a $229 million total. While not one of their bigger recent hits, word-of-mouth has allowed the film to perform better at the box office going into 2025 than expected. The low-budget comedy One of Them Days is also making good money, with the $6 million weekend adding to a $34 million total.
Last weekend’s champ, Flight Risk, has a more modest decline than expected, with ComScore reporting a 52% drop and a $5.6 million weekend for a total of just over $20 million. Given the poor word-of-mouth, the film is performing decently for Lionsgate. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was in sixth place with $3.22 million and a $230 million total, making it the highest-grossing entry in the series. Disney’s Moana 2 is also still making money, with a $2.8 million weekend and a $453 million total.
Next up are two Oscar contenders, with A Complete Unknown continuing a successful run with $2.16 million and a hefty $66 million total. The Brutalist also performed reasonably well as it expanded to more locations beyond its initial 70mm Roadshow release, making $1.8 million for a $12.1 million total. Finally, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, which just got greenlit for a follow-up, rounded out the top 10 with $1.6 million and a $34 million total. It’s also now on PVOD.
Next weekend seems poised to be a modest one, with neither Love Hurts nor Heart Eyes expected to pose much of a threat to Dog Man’s reign. Will you be seeing either? Let us know in the comments!
