WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The Keke Palmer buddy comedy 鈥淥ne of Them Days鈥 opened in first place on the North American box office charts on a particularly slow Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
The R-rated Sony release earned $11.6 million from 2,675 theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, beating Disneysa国际传媒 by a hair. By the end of Monday's holiday, 鈥淢ufasa鈥 will have the edge, however.
鈥淥ne of Them Days鈥 cost only $14 million to produce, which it is expected to earn by Monday. The very well-reviewed buddy comedy stars Palmer and SZA as friends and roommates scrambling to get money for rent before their landlord evicts them. Notably itsa国际传媒 the first Black female-led theatrical comedy since 鈥淕irls Trip鈥 came out in 2017 and it currently carries a stellar 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
But the marketplace was also quite weak overall. The total box office for Friday, Saturday and Sunday will add up to less than $80 million, according to data from Comscore, making it one of the worst Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekends since 1997.
鈥淔or an individual film like 鈥極ne of Them Days鈥 this was a great weekend,鈥 said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淵ou can still find success stories within what is overall a low grossing weekend for movie theaters.鈥
The Walt Disney Co.sa国际传媒 鈥淢ufasa鈥 was close by in second place with $11.5 million from the weekend, its fifth playing in theaters. Globally, the Barry Jenkins-directed prequel has made $588 million. It even beat a brand-new offering, the Blumhouse horror which debuted in third place with $10.6 million from 3,354 North American theaters.
Writer-director Leigh Whannellsa国际传媒 monster tale starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner did not enter theaters with great reviews. It currently carries a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews don鈥檛 generally affect the success of horror movies in their first weekend, but audiences also gave it a lackluster C- CinemaScore in exit polls. The Blumhouse production and Universal Pictures release cost a reported $25 million to make and is expected to reach $12 million by the close of Mondaysa国际传媒 holiday.
鈥淪onic the Hedgehog 3" was in fourth place with $8.6 million and 鈥淒en of Thieves 2鈥 rounded out the top five with $6.6 million.
In specialty releases, Brady Corbert's 215-minute post-war epic expanded to 388 screens where it made nearly $2 million over the weekend. A24 reported that it sold out various 70mm and IMAX showings. The studio also re-released its Colman Domingo drama in theaters and prisons, where over 1 million incarcerated people in 46 states were able to view the film.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend has seen major successes in the past. Dergarabedian noted 鈥淏ad Boys for Life,鈥 which had a three-day opening of $62.5 million in 2020, and 鈥淎merican Sniper,鈥 which earned $89.3 in its first weekend in wide release in 2016.
鈥淭his is a year thatsa国际传媒 going to get a big boost starting with 鈥楥aptain America: Brave New World鈥 and 鈥楶addington in Peru鈥 in February,鈥 Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淥ne of Them Days,鈥 $11.6 million.
2. 鈥淢ufasa: The Lion King,鈥 $11.5 million.
3. 鈥淲olf Man,鈥 $10.6 million.
4. 鈥淪onic the Hedgehog 3,鈥 $8.6 million.
5. 鈥淒en of Thieves 2: Pantera,鈥 $6.6 million.
6. 鈥淢oana 2,鈥 $6.1 million.
7. 鈥淣osferatu,鈥 $4.3 million.
8. 鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥 $3.8 million.
9. 鈥淲icked,鈥 $3.6 million.
10. 鈥淏abygirl,鈥 $2 million.
