Disney and Marvel’s superhero sequel CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD is the second movie this year to lead the box office in back-to-back weekends, after earning an additional $28.2M in the past three days. Universal and DreamWorks’ DOG MAN turned the trick a few weekends ago, with #1 finishes in the weekend of January 31 – February 2 and February 7 – 9. No movie has managed a threepeat of weekend victories in 2025.
This weekend’s box office was also supported by the opening of Neon’s horror film THE MONKEY, which contributed $14.2M. All movies together grossed $77.1M, which compares favorably to $60.5M from this same weekend last year when Paramount’s musical biography BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE led all films with $13.4M in its second weekend and Sony’s anime import DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA took in $11.5M in its North American debut.
The current year has produced a higher box office in seven of the eight weekends so far compared with the same weekends last year. This will not be the case next weekend, because nothing new will measure up to the $82.5M opening of Warner Bros.’ sci-fi epic DUNE: PART TWO, which led all movies to a healthy $114.7M take in the ninth weekend of 2024.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD’s $28.2M was 68% lower than its opening last weekend, bringing its ten-day totals to $141.2M domestic and $289.4M worldwide. This is the steepest second-weekend drop in franchise history, even higher than the 61% decline that the original film experienced in its second weekend in 2011. BRAVE NEW WORLD is still likely to outpace the first Captain America movie, but will not come close to the results of the second and third features. Here is a look at the box office performance of the four movies.
BOX OFFICE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN AMERICA after 10 Days
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (7/22/2011) – Domestic Opening $65.1M (3,715 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $25.6M (-61%), Domestic Total $176.7M, Worldwide Total $370.6M, Budget $140M, RT Critics/Audience 80%/75%
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (4/4/2014) – Domestic Opening $95.0M (3,938 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $41.3M (-57%), Domestic Total $259.8M, Worldwide Total $714.4M, Budget $170M, RT Critics/Audience 90%/92%
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (5/6/2016) – Domestic Opening $179.1M (4,226 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $72.6M (-60%), Domestic Total $408.1M, Worldwide Total $1,153M, Budget $250M, RT Critics/Audience 90%/89%
- CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD (2/14/2025) – Domestic Opening $88.5M (4,105 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $28.2M (-68%), Budget $180M, RT Critics/Audience 49%/80%
A key part of the success of the first three films has been their appeal to international audiences, with an impressive 62% of total worldwide box office coming from outside North America. However, only 51% of the worldwide total for BRAVE NEW WORLD has come from international sales.
It may be that the current geopolitical mood has dampened interest in an uber-American superhero story. On the other hand, the new movie is only ten days into its theatrical run, and its ultimate fate has not yet been fully written.
Neon’s new horror film THE MONKEY came in second place, with $14.2M in its opening weekend. This is Neon’s second-best opening among all the movies it has released since it was established in 2017, trailing only LONGLEGS which opened with $22.4M from July 12-14, 2024. Osgood Perkins is the filmmaker behind both of these movies. THE MONKEY is a screen adaptation of the 1980 Stephen King short story of the same name.
King described the film as “batshit insane,” which is an indication of his approval. Hollywood has made over 60 movies from King’s novels and short stories, including the memorable classics CARRIE (1976), THE SHINING (1980), and CUJO (1983).
The Monkey’s plot revolves around twin brothers who discover their father’s old toy monkey, which triggers a series of gruesome deaths. The movie’s lead actor Theo James (Mr. Malcolm’s LIST from 2022) plays both of the twin brothers, Hal and Bill Shelburn.
Its director Perkins has established a fan following with the success of last year’s LONGLEGS. The official trailer for THE MONKEY had more than 100 million views in its first 72 hours after it was posted online, setting a new record for an independent horror film.
Critics have given THE MONKEY a 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences have weighed in with a slightly lower 66%. The Atlantic appreciated the film’s unique approach, highlighting its “dark horror-comedy” tone and exploration of mortality with “gory humor.” Its reviewer David Sims commended the balance between gruesome scenes and dry humor, noting the film’s exploration of themes of childhood trauma and parental failures.
The Guardian praised the movie for maintaining high tension while incorporating comic elements, describing it as a “terrifyingly brilliant toy story.” The review emphasized the film’s ability to evoke authentic human emotions alongside its horror aspects.
RogerEbert.com highlighted Perkins’s confident direction, noting the film’s “striking imagery” and effective blend of black comedy and gruesome visuals. On a negative note, Vulture acknowledged the film’s “gory and inventive kills” but criticized it for “thinly drawn characters and lack of depth,” suggesting that the movie relies heavily on its death scenes without sufficient narrative support.
Here is a look at the performance of the two horror movies by Osgood Perkins distributed by Neon.
THE MONKEY vs. LONGLEGS
- THE MONKEY (2/21/2025) – Domestic Opening $14.2M (3,200), Budget $11M, RT Critics/Audience 77%/66%
- LONGLEGS (7/12/2024) – Domestic Opening $22.4M (2,510), Domestic Total $73.9M, Worldwide Total $126.9M, Budget $10M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/61%
Perkins has made another commercially successful movie on a tight budget. LONGLEGS generated huge profits by earning $126.9M on a production budget of less than $10M. While THE MONKEY is off to a somewhat slower start, its budget of $11M ensures that it will be very profitable.
Sony’s live-action animated sequel PADDINGTON IN PERU came in third place this weekend by earning $6.5M, a drop of 49% in its second weekend. After ten days, the film has now sold $25.3M domestically and $150.2M worldwide. PADDINGTON IN PERU is running ahead of the domestic box office from PADDINGTON 2 but behind that of the first PADDINGTON movie.
Since it debuted last November in markets outside North America, PADDINGTON IN PERU has earned $125.0M from those territories, whereas each of the first two PADDINGTON movies earned approximately $250M from those markets. Here is a look at the PADDINGTON franchise box office history.
BOX OFFICE HISTORY of PADDINGTON
- PADDINGTON (1/16/2015) – Domestic Opening $18.9M (3,303 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $12.3M (-35%), Domestic 10-day $39.9M, Domestic Total $76.3M, Worldwide Total $326.1M, Budget $55M, RT Critics/Audience 96%/80%
- PADDINGTON 2 (1/12/2018) – Domestic Opening $11.0M (3,702 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $8M (-27%), Domestic 10-day $24.8M, Domestic Total $40.9M, Worldwide Total $290.1M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 99%/89%
- PADDINGTON IN PERU (2/14/2025) – Domestic Opening $13.0M (3,890 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $6.5M (-49%), Domestic 10-day $6.5M, Budget $90M, RT Critics/Audience 94%/91%
Universal and DreamWorks’ animated family movie DOG MAN finished fourth with $5.9M in its fourth weekend, a decline of 40%. After 24 days, it has sold $78.8M domestically and $105M worldwide. Here is a look at the box office of the two movies that have been made from Dav Pilkey’s books.
DOG MAN vs. CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE
- DOG MAN (1/31/2025) – Domestic Opening $36M, Domestic 2nd Weekend $13.7M (-62%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $9.7M (-30%), Domestic 4th Weekend $5.9M (-40%), Domestic 24-day $78.8M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 80%/83%
- CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS (6/2/2017) – Domestic Opening $23.9M, Domestic 2nd Weekend $12.2M (-49%), , Domestic 3rd Weekend $7.2M (-41%), Domestic 4th Weekend $4.3M (-40%), Domestic 24-day $65.7M, Domestic Total $73.9M, Worldwide Total $125.4M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 87%/63%
DOG MAN has crossed over $100M in worldwide sales, ensuring profitability based on its $40M production budget. Since both movies from Dav Pilkey’s books have turned a profit, it would be logical to expect more in the future. Might there be movie magic in Cat Kid, The Dumb Bunnies, Dragon, Mighty Robot, or Super Diaper Baby?
For the second weekend in a row, the fifth-place finisher was the Chinese animated movie NE ZHA 2, distributed by CMC Pictures. It earned $3.1M this weekend, a decline of 60% from last weekend’s surprising finish. The film added 125 new theatres to its domestic run, bringing its total location count to 785.
Even though it played in 19% more theatres, the import suffered a 60% drop in sales in its second weekend. This points to a rapid decline from here on out. After 10 days, NE ZHA 2 has earned $14.9M domestic, which is “not nothing” for a Chinese film in the domestic market but a very small portion of its $1.63B worldwide gross, mostly from its home country.
It opened there on January 29th, in time for the Chinese New Year which has become an annual bonanza for moviegoing. The distributor CMC has taken an important step in establishing itself in the U.S. market, where it will almost certainly introduce more of its movies.
Where Are We as of 2/20/2025
After the 7th week of 2025, the domestic box office stands at 109% compared to 2024 and 64% compared to 2019.
