Box Office Weekend Shows Mixed Results Amid Oscar Anticipation

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The weekend box office showed varied results as 2025 nears the $1 billion mark, with total earnings estimated at $55.5 million. This figure represents an 11% increase compared to the same period last year, but it is the second lowest total for the year, just above the Super Bowl weekend low of $54.2 million.

The early March frame last year was dominated by Legendary/Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two,” which generated $82.5 million and helped propel the total for that weekend to $114.6 million. In contrast, this weekend features a range of films struggling to gain traction as they compete for audiences.

Leading the box office is Disney/Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Brave New World,” projected to earn between $14.5 million and $15.5 million in its third weekend, marking a 47% drop due to a limited number of available Imax screens. Meanwhile, Focus Features is introducing a new thriller, “Last Breath,” starring Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu, which is anticipated to gross around $7.3 million over the three-day period, despite receiving a solid B+ rating and a 4.5 stars from PostTrak.

Focus Features reported that “Last Breath” achieved $1 million in advance previews across 2,475 theaters prior to its debut. Vice President of Distribution at Focus, an unnamed spokesperson, noted, “Audience feedback has been strong, and we believe that the combination of an engaging storyline with stellar performances will resonate with viewers.”

Currently, NEON’s second weekend of “The Monkey” is performing better than expected with an estimated $6.2 million, despite a 56% decline from its first weekend. The film, directed by Oz Perkins and based on a Stephen King short story, has earned a total of $24.4 million so far.

The audience demographics for “Last Breath” show notable engagement with 51% male viewers. The largest age group consisted of 25-34-year-olds at 26%. In terms of diversity, the audience is predominantly Caucasian at 51%, followed by Latino and Hispanic at 23%.

In marketing efforts, Focus Features invested approximately $5.1 million in TV ads for ”Last Breath,” which is considerably lower than the $10.9 million spent for their prior hit ”Nosferatu” and closer to their Oscar-nominated ”Conclave.”

As audiences seem to shift away from theaters, many are turning to their screens to catch the Oscars this Sunday. Industry analysts suggest that the lack of robust box office results correlates with increased anticipation for the Academy Awards.

Other new entries included GKIDs’ “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX-Beginning,” which debuted in 780 locations, earning an estimated $1 million, and has captured the interest of audiences in major cities such as Los Angeles and New York.