3RD UPDATE SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart… As Saturday morning rolls in during a pre-matinee period for families, Amazon MGM Studios’ A Working Man is currently outpacing Disney’s Snow White. The film won Friday with $5.6M (including advance previews), heading towards a commendable opening of $15.6M, which is close to Jason Statham’s last film, The Beekeeper, that earned $16.5M over a 3-day span last year during an MLK holiday.
Financed by Black Bear at $40M, A Working Man is based on Chuck Dixon’s book series and follows a retired counter-terrorism operative who returns to action when a girl goes missing. It secured a B CinemaScore. The film does not have a Minimum Guarantee commitment for North America, only a P&A commitment of about $20M. Prime Video has taken the international distribution responsibilities. Notably, this project is the final marketing campaign led by Gerry Rich, an accomplished promoter at Amazon MGM Studios, before his departure.
At present, Snow White is anticipated to earn around $13.7M (representing a -68% drop after a Friday that brought in $3.7M). This is disappointing and reflects the film’s struggles amid negative press, with industry insiders lamenting, “Nobody is going! Nobody is going!” The decline is more severe than that experienced by Dumbo (-60%), and puts Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’s second weekend decline at -48% in sharper perspective. While Snow White is reportedly performing well in hourlies, it faces a significant gap to cover from Friday’s figures. One box office analyst noted this morning, “In order for Snow White to surpass A Working Man, it would need to more than double its earnings today.”
Moreover, the action star, aged 57, is outperforming rising social media sensation Jenna Ortega at the box office. Her A24 horror film, Death of a Unicorn, a $15M production, is expected to generate around $5.3M in fifth place, earning a B- CinemaScore. Despite the original content argument, her previous films, including Beetlejuice and recent Scream installments, have been tied to successful franchises. The disconnect regarding Death of a Unicorn and its underperformance raises questions.
Statham commands a larger social media following—115.7M to 38.6M—according to metrics from RelishMix. Nevertheless, fans are expressing positively about Death of a Unicorn, expressing excitement over its originality and cast. Feedback like “Good actors, new story, I’m in” and “Glad to see something other than a damn remake” suggest the film meets expectations among certain audiences, though box office traction remains elusive.
Additionally, Fathom’s faith-based film The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1, which opened at 2,235 locations, garnered $5.1M on Friday, leading to an expected total of $12M over the weekend, marking a notable success in the faith-based genre. With a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from audiences, it appears poised for a strong showing, particularly in comparison to its weekend competitors.
As a whole, the weekend box office is tracking to approximately $79M, reflecting a 5% increase over the prior weekend, albeit a significant 42% decline compared to the same weekend last year, which featured the blockbuster Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opening to $80M.
