In a surprising twist, the Jason Statham action thriller A WORKING MAN in its opening surpassed SNOW WHITE in its second weekend. A WORKING MAN brought in $15.2M, followed by SNOW WHITE’s $14.2M, and a supporting cast of four more new openers, which wound up in positions 3 through 6.
All movies produced $77.2M, which is the second weekend in a row with improved results. However, this was nowhere near the results from the same weekend in 2024 which produced $137.2M, led by GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE with a very strong debut of $87.7M. That weekend last year included the Easter holiday, whereas Easter arrives much later this year, from April 18-20.
Unfortunately, this is the fifth consecutive weekend with a box office below that from the matching weekend in 2024. That will change next weekend when Warner Bros.’ widely-anticipated A MINECRAFT MOVIE opens and will boost sales, surpassing last year’s $85.5M which was led by weekend #2 of GODZILLA X KONG with $31.2M.
Amazon/MGM’s A WORKING MAN was the surprise winner of the weekend, selling $15.2M in tickets at 3,262 theatres across the U.S. and Canada. The film was directed by David Ayer, known for his work in the crime action thriller END OF WATCH from 2012 and the war movie FURY from 2014.
In A WORKING MAN, Ayer is reunited with Jason Statham after working together on the 2024 action movie THE BEEKEEPER. Statham is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable action stars, having played the leading role in 32 movies which have collectively grossed almost $2 billion worldwide.
This time, Statham plays Levon Cade, a construction worker with a dark past who is drawn back into action. It also features Michael Peña as Joe Garcia (ANT-MAN AND THE WASP from 2018), Levon’s boss; David Harbour (BLACK WIDOW from 2021) as Gunny Lafferty; and Jason Flemyng (THE 355 from 2022) as Wolo Kolisnyk. The narrative centers on Levon Cade’s mission to rescue his boss’s daughter from human traffickers, utilizing his former commando skills. Liam Neeson was not available.
The movie is an adaptation of Chuck Dixon’s 2014 novel “Levon’s Trade.” Dixon has penned a series of novels focused on the character, providing an easy road ahead for sequels if this movie is deemed a success. Ayer co-wrote the screenplay with Sylvester Stallone, blending Ayer’s gritty storytelling with Stallone’s nose for action. Originally envisioned as a TV series to be made by Stallone’s Balboa Productions, the project evolved into a feature film.
Critics have not been particularly kind to the movie, giving it a 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences appear to be stoked to see a Jason Statham action movie, giving it a solid 90% rating. The Associated Press commended its ability to transition from the initial blue-collar scenes into high-paced action.
Statham’s character, Levon Cade, is depicted as a morally upright yet tormented individual. While featuring intense violence, the movie blends elements of TAKEN and the JOHN WICK movies, emphasizing working-class heroism. They rated it 2 ½ stars out of 4. The Guardian gave it a less enthusiastic 2 out of 5 stars, with critic Jesse Hassenger noting that while the film attempts to offer an updated version of a hard-boiled detective story, it doesn’t reach the highs of Statham’s best works.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck praises the acting, particularly Statham’s and Harbour’s performances. However, he mentions that the film feels overly long at nearly two hours, with a feeling of repetitiveness setting in early. With a production budget of $40M, the film will have to earn $100M in worldwide box office to be profitable. A definite advantage for the film is the global appeal of Jason Statham’s movies. After its solid domestic opening of $15.2M, a strong assist from foreign markets will be a blessing.
A WORKING MAN vs. THE BEEKEEPER
- A WORKING MAN (3/28/2025) – Domestic Opening (3,262) $15.2M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 52%/90%
- THE BEEKEEPER (1/12/2024) – Domestic Opening (3,303) $16.6M, Domestic Total $66.2M, Worldwide Total $162.6M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 71%/92%
Disney’s live-action animated SNOW WHITE suffered a steep drop of 66% from its opening of $43.0M last weekend, taking its 10-day total to $66.8M domestic and $143.1M worldwide. The movie has had to contend with poor critical reviews and a wave of controversy and bad press. For some perspective, we have been comparing SNOW WHITE to the most recent Disney live-action animated movie, MUFASA: THE LION KING.
While MUFASA was not exactly a hit with critics, its 57% score on Rotten Tomatoes was 13 percentage points higher than SNOW WHITE’s 44%. The gap in audience score was even greater, with MUFASA earning an 89% rating from moviegoers versus SNOW WHITE’s 71%. Here is where the two films stand after 10 days in release.
SNOW WHITE vs. MUFASA: THE LION KING
- SNOW WHITE (3/21/2025) – Domestic Opening $43M (4,200 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $14.2M (-66%), Domestic 10-day $66.8M, Budget $270M, RT Critics/Audience 43%/74%
- MUFASA: THE LION KING (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $35.4M (4,100 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $36.8M (+4%), Domestic 10-day $113.2M, Total $253.0M, Worldwide Total $717.1M, Budget $200M, RT Critics/Audience 57%/89%
After its first ten days, MUFASA had earned a domestic total of $113.2M compared to SNOW WHITE’s $ 66.8 M. One obvious reason for the difference is that MUFASA opened on December 20th, a much busier period for moviegoing compared with SNOW WHITE’s March 21st debut. Disney is also facing a budget problem with SNOW WHITE, which cost $270M compared with MUFASA’s $ 200 M.
As a result, SNOW WHITE would need to reach $675M in global box office to break even, and it seems unlikely to get there. MUFASA surpassed that amount, with $717.1M in worldwide sales, but SNOW WHITE is running 41% behind MUFASA at this point. With the likelihood of profitability fading, Disney is now hoping SNOW WHITE can eek out a few more weeks of decent earnings to minimize its losses.
Finishing in third place is Fathom Events’ THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART 1, which opened to $ 11.5 M. The film is both the theatrical release and premiere of the first two episodes of the fifth season of the TV show “The Chosen.” It depicts the biblical events from the New Testament that took place between Palm Sunday and the cleansing of the Temple.
This release continues the highly profitable approach to package episodes from the successful TV series to create a full-length feature that premieres in theatres. “The Chosen” TV series has drawn nearly 300 million viewers worldwide, reflecting a broad appeal across different cultures and faiths. Last year, the same strategy was used with The Chosen’s season four, releasing three separate features – episodes 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8. Together, they generated a total box office of $32.9M and created more exposure for the TV show. It also resulted in much-appreciated income for exhibitors.
Dallas Jenkins, the creator of “The Chosen” series, directed and produced THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART 1, ensuring continuity in the on-screen storytelling and vision. Jonathan Roumie reprises his role as Jesus Christ, a performance that has resonated with audiences and drawn widespread acclaim.
Elizabeth Tabish returns as Mary Magdalene, offering a nuanced performance that brings depth to the character. The film explores the themes of Jesus confronting corruption in the Temple and the anticipation of his impending sacrifice.
The Chosen series has been funded primarily through crowdfunding, demonstrating the impassioned support of its global fanbase. It also guarantees profitability. At this point, while there have not yet been enough critical reviews to generate a Rotten Tomatoes score, audiences are saying amen with a miraculous 99% rating.
Exhibitors are delighted to have exclusivity on the content before episodes are available on Amazon Prime. Perhaps, this approach could be used in the future with other popular TV series that have an enthusiastic fan base.
Universal’s psychological horror film THE WOMAN IN THE YARD finished in fourth place with $9.5M in its first three days. This is the 22nd collaboration between Blumhouse and Universal, who have led the horror genre since their first effort in 2015 with PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION.
Some of their biggest hits have been THE BLACK PHONE (2022), M3GAN (2023), and FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S (2023). In THE WOMAN IN THE YARD, the narrative centers on Ramon, who is recovering from a car accident that killed her wife.
She finds that she must protect her children from an ominous presence invading their lives, intertwining themes of loss and supernatural terror. The movie was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, known for his work on HOUSE OF WAX and CARRY ON. Danielle Deadwyler (TILL from 2022) plays Ramona, the mother who is contending with supernatural forces as she contends with her grief.
Critics have not been kind to the movie, garnering only a 42% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even more damaging for the prospects of the film is the equally low audience score of 45%. The Guardian commends the film’s atmospheric tension and the collaboration between Collet-Serra and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski, noting that they “conjure an eerie, beautiful atmosphere.” However, their review also states that the narrative loses coherence in the final act despite strong performances.
The Sun provides an even less favorable assessment, critiquing the film for unconvincing action, a predictable plot, and reliance on clichés. Finally, Polygon notes that while the film boasts strong visual direction and a commendable performance by Deadwyler, its reliance on metaphor and an ambiguous narrative leads to a weak and unsatisfying ending.
As with other Blumhouse/Universal releases, the movie had a tightly-controlled production budget of $ 12 M. This sets the bar to profitability at only $30M in worldwide box office. Based on its opening three-day domestic box office of $9.5M, it seems that the Blumhouse/Universal partnership is on its way to another profitable project.
A24’s DEATH OF A UNICORN finished in fifth place with $5.8M in its opening weekend. Alex Scharfman makes his directorial debut in a feature film, and was also its screenwriter. The star-studded cast features Paul Rudd (ANT-MAN from 2015) as Elliot Kintner and Jenna Ortega (BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE from 2024) as his daughter, Ridley.
The story follows a father-daughter duo who accidentally kill a unicorn, leading to a series of darkly comedic events involving a wealthy family seeking to exploit the creature’s magical properties. The narrative explores the strained father-daughter relationship between Elliot and Ridley, adding emotional depth to the horror and comedy. Unlike classic soft and cuddly depictions of unicorns, the mythical beasts in this film are enraged and predatory, attacking those who seek to exploit them.
After principal photography commenced in July 2023, unions gave a waiver allowing work to continue throughout the Hollywood strikes that year because A24 was not a member of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Critics are not high on the result, giving it only a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences are more impressed with a 76% rating.
RogerEbert.com praised the film’s ensemble cast, noting that each actor “understood the assignment,” elevating the creature feature beyond a typical “Jurassic Park” riff. However, the review mentioned that some emotional elements felt shallow, and the CGI in early scenes appeared incomplete.
The Guardian found the satire predictable and the CGI lackluster, stating that despite a strong cast, the film’s narrative became tiresome and did not break new ground in its genre. Vulture criticized the film for its lack of character depth and repetitive humor, mentioning that despite solid performances, especially from Richard E. Grant, the satire felt less impactful, and the film devolved into a lackluster imitation of “Jurassic Park.” The production cost is reported to have been $15M, equating to a threshold of $37.5M in global box office to reach profitability. After earning only $5.8M in its opening, it may not get there.
Where Are We as of 3/27/2025
After the 12th week of 2025, the domestic box office stands at 91% compared to 2024 and 59% compared to 2019.
