Chalk up another low-budget success for Lionsgate. After the No. 1 release of “Den of Thieves: Pantera,” the studio has topped the charts again with the Mark Wahlberg thriller “Flight Risk,” which is opening to $12 million from 3,161 theaters amid a wider slowdown for the box office.
Overall grosses for the weekend are expected to slide to approximately $64 million, slightly higher than the $59.3 million grossed on this weekend a year ago, but still a sign of an early-year slump with a lack of major titles. Business is expected to stay this way until Valentine’s Day weekend and the release of Marvel Studios’ “Captain America: Brave New World,” which early projections peg for a $95 million opening.
“Flight Risk,” which was a co-production financed in part through Lionsgate’s slate deal with Media Capital Technologies, received a lukewarm reception from audiences with a C on CinemaScore and a 64% Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter score. Still, it should still turn a modest profit for Lionsgate as it tries to rebuild consistent box office performance after a poor 2024, having found its footing this winter with “Den of Thieves 2” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”
Among holdovers, Disney’s “Mufasa,” which passed $600 million worldwide earlier this week, earned $8.2 million for a $220 million domestic total after six weekends. Sony’s comedy “One of Them Days” is holding well in its second weekend with $7.7 million and a $24.8 million overall total, while Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” added $5 million for a $225.7 million domestic total.
On the prestige side, two Best Picture Oscar nominees cracked the top 10. Searchlight’s “A Complete Unknown” continues to leg out with $2.8 million in its fifth weekend for a $62.5 million domestic total. A24’s “The Brutalist” also continues to expand well as it added 780 theaters this weekend to gross $2.3 million from 1,118 locations, giving it a total of $8.75 million.
