SATURDAY AM: In the old days, like pre aughts, rival studio execs enjoyed sniping about a competitor’s upsets. But nowadays with streamers like Apple, Amazon and Netflix sitting outside the hen house, ready to gobble up any big pic at auction, there’s a lot of rooting going on among the majors for their fellow motion picture brethren to win.
Especially this weekend with Paul Thomas Anderson‘s very expensive $130M-$140M, Leonardo DiCaprio starring radicalist action movie One Battle After Another, which continues to stick to its $21M forecast after a near $9M Friday (which includes previews) and a solid A CinemaScore and a huge 74% definite recommend on Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak.
That’s the highest CinemaScore for a DiCaprio event movie in quite some time, the 2012 Quentin Tarantino movie, Django Unchained earning an A-. A win for originality at the box office with One Battle After Another, is a win for all. No one wants a future where auteurs’ ambitious endeavors are confined to streaming. PLFs and Imax are repping an enormous 52% of the pic’s weekend till. There are also 70MM locations.
One Battle After Another is playing best on the coasts where close to half of its gross is coming from. AMC’s New York Lincoln Square is the movie’s top grossing venue so far with close to $112K.
Yes, typically, at these production cost levels and openings, we throw a hatchet, read Mickey 17 and Joker: Folie a Deux. We even gave Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey a hard time last weekend, that Kogonada directed romance movie dropping -62% in weekend 2 to $1.25M and a ten-day of $5.9M. Yes, if there’s one battle One Battle After Another faces, it’s the pic’s daunting budget, but more on that later. That’s the elephant in the room. There was always risk here associated with the priciest Anderson movie of all-time, given how niche he has historically played at the box office. Not until know has he been able to expand to a mass-following, a feat which Quentin Tarantino accomplished back in 1994 with Pulp Fiction, with further tentpole resurgence streak again with 2009’s Inglourious Basterds. Those who purchased tickets last night said Anderson was the chief reason why they went to see the movie at 45% in PostTrak exits.
Since launching One Battle After Another outside the fall film festival troika, word of mouth has been electric, with a standing ovation, and not an empty seat in the house, at the Friday, Sept. 12, Academy members screening in Hollywood. The belief, knock on wood, is that Warners might have a slow burn Oscar contender on their hands here at the B.O. with One Battle After Another ala Best Picture winners 2012’s Argo ($19.4M opening, $136M domestic) and 2006’s The Departed ($26.8M opening, $132.2M). Argo eased -16% in its second weekend, and continued to hold week after week, with Departed down -29% in weekend 2. Granted, very different pre-streaming times when windows were longer. That 74% definite recommend correlates to at least a 3x multiple or more for the pic’s final domestic box office. “No hasty judgements this weekend,” a non-Warner Bros distribution exec tells me this morning about the ultimate prospects for One Battle After Another.
(L-R) Leonardo DiCaprio and director Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of ‘One Battle After Another’
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
One Battle After Another‘s winning attribute in regards to box office is DiCaprio. Without him, One Battle After Another is a niche Anderson play. Forty-one percent of ticket buyers said they went to see One Battle After Another because of DiCaprio. He is one of the stars who continues to make original movies, and comes with a box office opening guarantee, this being his 11th title to open north of $20M. We didn’t see that type of opening box office power last weekend with Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell in the non-franchise Big Bold Beautiful Journey. By the way last night’s A CinemaScore is higher than a slew of DiCaprio’s previous theatrical releases, including, Killers of the Flower (A-) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (B). Among DiCaprio’s A grade films are A-s for Django Unchained and 2002’s Catch Me If You Can, and an A+ for James Cameron’s Titanic in 1997.
RelishMix says that the social media universe across TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube stands at 250M for One Battle After Another, which is ahead of another comp, that being A24’s Civil War (101M) and above DiCaprio’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (241.7M) and Killers of the Flower Moon (168.8M). Civil War is another comp here to One Battle After Another in its anti-establishment sensibility. Civil War opened to $10.8M Friday/previews, and a 3-day of $25.5M, ending its run at $68.7M. DiCaprio is active on social media, and that’s to the benefit of Warners, the Oscar winner reaching 96.5M. Regina Hall also brings close to 7M.
The Revenant Oscar winner took to social recently, posting about his appearance at his hometown theater, the Vista. DiCaprio and Del Toro have also posted to followers, telling them to go buy tickets.
Says RelishMix, “Convo runs positive for One Battle After Another with fans buzzing like they just got the dream collab nobody dared to expect. Comments lean into the once-in-a-generation pairing of Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Paul Thomas Anderson as a ‘business-saving’ moment for cinema, comparing the trailer to past seismic moments. As stated, ‘One Battle After Another gonna be the greatest Leonardo DiCaprio performance since The Wolf of Wall Street!!!’ while another declares, ‘The best Hollywood star meets the best American filmmaker of our generation! Most anticipated.’ Others riff on DiCaprio’s “Oscar magnet” status, saying “Leo doesn’t need the Oscar, the Oscar needs Leo,” and touting Greenwood’s score as an event in itself, drawing parallels to the sonic punch of PTA’s There Will Be Blood.”
Back to budget, shrewd film financiers always tell me that original movies should be made at a cost; anything north of $130M for a non-IP, particularly for what’s arguably a left leaning toned car chase epic, is just risky. In the same breath, as we’ve previously written, Warners bought this package at auction, and if they didn’t another studio would have. This is where the bidding led to. That said, the Warner Bros motion picture administration of Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy made sure other box office goods were on this year’s slate to offset any shortfall on a big swing like One Battle After Another. It’s about ROI at the end of the year, and the Warner Bros Motion Picture Group and sister labels New Line and DC have plenty of that in being the first studio to cross $4 billion worldwide this year.
Assuming One Battle After Another doesn’t ease greatly tonight from its -19% expected decline from Friday/previews, props to Warners for spending the P&A to get One Battle After Another to where tracking was spotting it. Too often, studios slash their spending when the box office forecast doesn’t sync with the budget, or worse, they underspend.
Half of yesterday’s audience were men over 25, followed by 29% women over 25, 14% men under 25 and 9% women under 25. Diversity demos are 50% Caucasian, a very good 20% Hispanic and Latino, 15% Black and 7% Asian American. The 18-34 prime moviegoing demo repped 49%.
The best piece of marketing for One Battle After Another is the movie itself. It requires a sit through for any non-Anderson follower to relish that it’s the filmmaker’s most commercial movie. Excellent word of mouth is out there, not just in the 74% recommend, but 90% of the audience said the movie either met or exceeded their expectations. There is walk-up business with 57% telling PostTrak they bought their tickets same day.
The weather forecast says light rain today for the No. 1 box office marketplace, Los Angeles. Hopefully, that too, drives more people to One Battle After Another.
****
Universal’s Gabby’s Dollhouse received an A+ CinemaScore last night, the pic still eyeing a $13.6M opening after a $4.3M Friday/previews in second place. That opening is in on par with 2021’s Paw Patrol from Paramount/Spinmaster, which debuted to $13.1M, but note that release was theatrical day-and-date with Paramount+. Fifty-five percent definite recommend with women and young girls showing up in bulk at 72%. Hispanic and Latino moviegoers are leading the charge at 43%, followed by 36% Caucasian, 10% Black and 4% Asian American. The movie is based on DreamWorks produced original kids series, which is the most watched on Netflix; the IP alone since 2021 has sold 3 million dollhouses. Netflix expanded the series to 100 total episodes, and the 12th season begins on Netflix November 17, 2025. The movie played evenly throughout the country but with the South, South Central and Midwest most notable. Los Angeles’ AMC Grove is the leading single theater stateside with north of $8K. The DreamWorks Animation hybrid title was made for a low $32M, a big screen play here for the margins in regards to gross to cost.
Lionsgate’s Strangers: Chapter 2 with a $2.4M Friday is looking at $5.3M-5.8M. Tracking was in the mid single digits. Narrow horror appeal with a C- CinemaScore, a half grade lower than Chapter 1‘s C, with a ho-hum definite average of 40%. Rotten Tomatoes audience score shows that the few who watched this sequel enjoyed it better than the first, 57% to 45%. There’s slightly more interest for the fourth weekend of Conjuring: Last Rites according to moviegoers’ wallets with $6.7M. Strangers 2 is tipping female at 51%, with 18-34 at 73%. Diversity demos are 39% Latino and Hispanic, 33% Caucasian, 18% Black, and 4% Asian American. Few PLFs with pic’s money being made in the South, South Central and West. Cinemark Downey 14 in California is the sequel’s highest grossing theater in the country with $8.7K.
Saturday numbers:
One Battle After Another (WB) 3,634 Theaters, Fri $8.8M, 3-day $21M/Wk 1
Gabby’s Dollhouse (Uni) 3,500 theaters, Fri $4.3M, 3-day $13.6M/Wk 1
Demon Slayer…Infinity Castle (Sony) 2,984(-358) theaters, Fri $1.8M (-61%), 3-day $6.8M (-61%), Total $117.8M/Wk 3
The Conjuring: Last Rites (NL) 3,083 (-330) theaters, Fri $1.95M (-47%) 3-day $6.7M (-45%),Total $161.2M/Wk 4
Strangers: Chapter 2 (LG) 2,690 theaters, Fri $2.4M, 3-day $5.3M-$5.8M/Wk 1
Him (Uni) 3,168 (0) theaters, Fri $1.1M (-82%), 3-day $3.8M (-71%), Total $20.9M/Wk 2
7. The Long Walk (LG) 2,297 (-548) theaters, Fri $975K (-47%) 3-day $3.4M (-45%), Total $28.8M/Wk 3
8. Downton Abbey: Grand Finale (Focus) 2,829 (-882) theaters, Fri $990K (-50%), 3-day $3.3M(-48%), Total $38.9M/Wk 9.They Call Him OG (Prath) 800 theaters, Fri $600K, 3-day $1.7M, Total $5.4M/Wk 1
10. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Sony) 3,330 theaters (0), Fri $365K (-73%), $1.25M (-62%), Total $5.9M/Wk 2
11. Dead of Winter (Vert) 605 theaters, Fri $600K, 3-day $1.1M/Wk 1
12. Eleanor the Great (SPC) 892 theaters, Fri $410K, 3-day $1.1M/Wk 1
Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut, which made its world premiere at Cannes, is seeing a per screen of $1,200. Rotten Tomatoes critics score is 67% fresh.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Paul Thomas Anderson, as we told you earlier this week, is heading to his best opening at the domestic box office, with One Battle After Another set to earn $8.5 million-$9 million Friday (including previews) for what’s shaping up to be a $21M weekend at 3,635 theaters.
That domestic start for One Battle After Another also reps the 11th movie for Leonardo DiCaprio to open north of $20M. We’re hearing that overseas is around $24M for what’s looking like a $45M global bow at this point. The VistaVision-shot and -presented movie is playing Imax and PLFs. Next weekend there’s a co-share on Imax with AMC’s album-release movie Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl and A24’s The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson in the biopic of UFC champion Mark Kerr.
Among Anderson movies, One Battle After Another is now his best with Rotten Tomatoes audiences at 90%, higher than Magnolia and Boogie Nights, both at 89%.
Universal/DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie isn’t looking as messy as we feared earlier with a $13.5M opening after a $4.3M Friday (including $700,000 previews) at 3,500 locations.
In third place is another Warner Bros movie, New Line’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, at 3,083 locations with a $2.1M fourth Friday and a fourth weekend of $7.1M, off 42%, for a running total of $161.7M by EOD Sunday.
Sony/Crunchyroll’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle eases to fourth place with $1.7M in its third Friday for a fourth weekend of $6.4M, -63%, for a running total of $117.4M.
Fifth goes to Lionsgate’s The Strangers – Chapter 2 at 2,690 theaters, for a Friday of $2.2M, 3-day of $5M-$6M.
UPDATED FRIDAY, 7:52 AM: Warner Bros is reporting $3.1M this morning for Paul Thomas Anderson’s $130M-$140M pic One Battle After Another. That number is higher than the previews for Leonardo DiCaprio movies Killers of the Flower Moon, which opened during the actors strike sans cast promotion, but also The Revenant, which posted $2.3M in previews before its wide break in January 2016 during its second weekend (after its NY/LA opening on Christmas Day).
Speaking of very expensive original movies with DiCaprio, he’s certainly been here before with The Revenant, which opened to $39.8M (granted, after 14 days of limited play that saw $1.5M). Revenant, with its gloomy Western wilderness setting, was a hold-your-breath moment for 20th Century Fox and New Regency executives before being nominated for 12 Oscars and winning three, one of which is DiCaprio’s sole golden-guy trophy. Revenant would go on to do $183.6M domestic, and $532.9M worldwide netting $61M in profit after all downstream revenues.
By the way, here’s DiCaprio’s top five openers at the domestic box office:
Now doing more in its first Thursday than One Battle After Another is the Indian gangster film They Call Him OG, which grossed an estimated $3.77M at 800 locations. Directed by Sujeeth and Ashwin Neal Mani, the pic stars Pawan Kalyan as a Mumbai mob boss who resurfaces after vanishing in the city’s underworld with a mission to take out his rival crime lords.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, Universal and DreamWorks’ feature take on the Netflix series, saw $700K on Thursday from showtimes that began at 2 p.m. in 2,650 locations. That number is on par with the previews of Sony’s Harold and the Purple Crayon, which did $725K and opened to $6M in 2024. Eeeeek. Uni was expecting a number in the low- to mid-teens for this G-rated preschool IP. Net production cost for the movie featuring Kristen Wiig, Gloria Estefan and Laila Lockhart Kraner is $32M before P&A. Gabby’s is a DreamWorks Animation production for Netflix. It’s 77% fresh with critics.
Madelaine Petsch in ‘The Strangers — Chapter 2’
Lionsgate
Lionsgate’s The Strangers – Chapter 2 grossed $630K from Thursday night’s preview shows. The movie opens Friday in 2,690 theatres in what’s expected to be a $6M-$7M take. That preview number is half of what Strangers – Chapter 1 did back in May 2024, which was $1.2M. That first Renny Harlin-directed horror pic starring Madelaine Petsch opened to $11.8M. This one is expected to land in the mid-single digits. Critics weren’t a fan of the first movie at 21% Rotten, and they aren’t fans of the sequel at 18%. Chapter 1 received a C CinemaScore.
The week’s Top 5:
1) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Sony) 4,607 theaters, Wk $23.6M (-73%), Total $111M/Wk 2
2) Him (Uni) 3,168 theaters, Wk $17M/Wk 1
3) The Conjuring: Last Rites (NL/WB) 3,413 theaters, Wk $16.3M (-54%), Total $154.5M/Wk 3
4) Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (Foc) 3,711 theaters, Wk $10.2M (-60%), Total $35.6M/Wk 2
5) The Long Walk (LG) 2,845 theaters, Wk $9M (-45%), Total $25.4M/Wk 2
PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros’ original Leonardo DiCaprio movie from Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another, is posting previews around $2.5M with potential for upside according to sources.
We keep hearing that advance tickets sales in cities continues to grow.
Tonight’s estimated figure isn’t far from the preview night of DiCaprio’s last movie, Apple Original Films’ Killers of the Flower Moon, which posted $2.6M on its first Thursday evening, turning into a $9.4M Friday and 3-day of $23.2M. Now that was during the 2023 strikes when the cast couldn’t promote, not to mention that Martin Scorsese directed feature take of the bestselling novel was 3 hours and 26 minutes long. One Battle After Another is considerably shorter at 2 hours and 41 minutes (and, man, does it move at a clip).
Now, Thursday previews for One Battle After Another, which started at 2PM today in 3,200 locations are under that of Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 DiCaprio movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which did $5.8M off showtimes that started at 4PM. That R-rated movie morphed into a first Friday of $16.7M, and $41M 3-day, a record domestic opening for Tarantino. That movie had the added boost of an early August release date, as well as the marquee power of Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Once Upon a Time..also had a long tail in regards to its word of mouth, blasting off with a worldwide Cannes premiere at the start of summer.
The Rotten Tomatoes Audience score for One Battle After Another stands at 87% which is higher than a slew of DiCaprio fan faves, i.e. The Revenant (84%), Killers of the Flower Moon (84%), Wolf of Wall Street (83%), and even Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (70%). Among Anderson movies, One Battle After Another is heads and tails higher than the helmer’s last movie, 2021’s Licorice Pizza (65%), as well as a point ahead of the 2x Oscar winner There Will Be Blood (86%), but under Boogie Nights and Magnolia which both stand at 89%. More updates in the AM.
One Battle After Another is expected to file in the low $20M range stateside off its $130M-$140M production cost. The movie’s fate will be determined in the long run. Warners opted to skip the spotlight of the fall film festival troika after Joker: Folie a Deux ran into a buzzsaw at Venice last year. The studio began screening One Battle After Another just as press were returning from Toronto. A win this weekend for One Battle After Another is a win for original theatrical films in the streaming era.