Washington (AFP) – MGM’s new thriller “A Working Man,” with Jason Statham, emerged atop a flock of new films this weekend in North America, earning an estimated $15.2 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday. The action film, from “Suicide Squad” director David Ayer, features Statham as a military veteran who comes out of retirement to seek the kidnappers of his boss’s daughter.
It grabbed the top spot from Disney’s “Snow White” remake, which saw ticket sales plunge. The big-budget Disney film plummeted from last weekend’s $45 million opening to just $14.2 million despite showing in 4,200 theaters — the year’s lowest debut for a movie opening in at least 3,000 theaters, analysts said. For “Snow White,” “any hopes of a box office rebound evaporated with a very poor showing,” said Daniel Loria, a vice president at the Boxoffice Company. While it “should still cross the $100 million mark domestically, (it) stands out as the first major box office disappointment of 2025.”
Three other new releases rounded out the weekend box office. “The Chosen: Last Supper Part I,” part of a Fathom Events series about the life and teachings of Jesus, scored an unexpectedly strong $11.5 million, placing third for the Friday-through-Sunday period. Universal’s psychological horror film “The Woman in the Yard,” about a widowed single mother who receives an ominous warning from a strange woman, placed fourth, at $9.5 million. Danielle Deadwyler stars.
And A24’s comedy horror film “Death of a Unicorn,” with Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who accidentally kill a young unicorn — drawing the wrath of its parents — scored $5.8 million in ticket sales. The year’s first quarter, Loria said, will be the worst such three-month stretch since 2022, “but we expect the market to begin its rebound in April before a strong summer season kicks off.”
Rounding out the top 10 were:
– “Princess Mononoke 4K” ($4 million)
– “Captain America: Brave New World” ($2.8 million)
– “Black Bag” ($2.2 million)
– “Mickey 17” ($1.9 million)
– “Novocaine” ($1.5 million)
© 2024 AFP
