The domestic weekendbox officeresults for January 24-26 are in, bringing some good and bad news for both new releases and hits from November and December that are still enjoying long theatrical runs. Last weekend,Mufasasurprisingly beatWolf ManandOne of Them Daysfor the top spot at the box office, despite the former having been in theaters for some time now and the latter two being new releases with good projections. However, despiteMufasa’s mixed reviews, the broad appeal of theLion Kingstory seems to still be bringing families to movie theaters.
As far as new releases are concerned,Mark Wahlberg’sFlight Riskcould prove to fly high and fall fast like other similar recent titles, while Lucy Liu’sPresencemay experience the opposite.Notably, this weekend’s box office is influenced by the announcement of the2025 Oscar nominations, as now that the titles are confirmed, Best Picture nominees are seeing a new surge in ticket sales as the race for this year’s top awards truly begins. Yet the January 24-26 box office demonstrates that the beloved flicks of 2024 and 2025 are still getting their due.
1
$12 million
2
$8.7 million
3
$8 million
4
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
$5.5 million
5
$4.3 million
6
$3.41 million
7
$3.4 million
8
$3.1 million
9
$3 million
10
$2.87 million
Flight Risk Opened At #1 After Exceeding Box Office Expectations
Mark Wahlberg’s Action Thriller Claims The Top Spot
Despite its resounding 25% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes,Flight Riskreached the top spot on the domestic box office charts in its opening weekend. Following a hitman who infiltrates a small flight posing as a pilot,Flight Riskis directed by Mel Gibson and stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery, and Topher Grace. As of Friday morning,Varietyprojected that the new thriller would achieve more than $11 million in its first weekend, but it did better by hitting $12 million, also within the range predicted byBoxoffice ProandBox Office Theory.
$1.1 billion
$100.04 million
$605.4 million
$44.68 million
$549.4 million
$54.4 million
$407.1 million
$44.01 million
Planet of the Apes (2001)
$362.2 million
$68.5 million
However, Wahlberg’s highest-grossing movies have historically done much better with their openings, andFlight Riskmight only be a winnerthisweekend. Meanwhile,Lionsgate is celebrating the small win when this is the studio’s second 2025 release to be named #1 at the box office upon its opening weekend, followingDen of Thieves 2: Pantera’s debut just two weeks ago. However, whilePresencecomes in at #6 with below $3.5 million,Den of Thieves 2’s 54.5% drop in profits and comparisons to Walhberg’s biggest commercial hits might not bode well forFlight Risk’s future.
The Lion King Still Reigns While Palmer Does Well By Comedy
Meanwhile,Mufasa: The Lion Kingsaw a 27.8% drop in its gross from last weekend, whileOne of Them Daysfell 32.2%. However, these decreases only place the former in the #2 spot for the weekend and the latter at #3.Mufasais still sitting at 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and is one of themajor movies to get no Oscar nominations in 2025. However, its 89% audience score speaks to its strengths and its family-friendly nature still seems to be making money with parents looking for a weekend activity, even after last week’s holiday weekend.
There were hopes thatOne of Them Daysmight be the first straightforward comedy to be #1 at the box office for its opening weekend since 2022’sJackass Forever, but the Keke Palmer-led hit is making the genre proud all the same. Holding a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- on CinemaScore,One of Them Daysis standing strong in the top three and has the potential to stay there if it can maintain its momentumin the coming weeks. PerhapsOne of Them Dayscan still have a weekend in the top spot asMufasagoes to streaming.
Wolf Man & Den Of Thieves 2 Continue To Drop Quickly At The Box Office
Wolf Man Does Not Seem To Be A New Horror Classic
Any hopes forWolf Manto be a box office winner are quickly dissipating as it drops 68.8%,bringing it down from the third highest-grossing movie of the weekend to the seventh. Now at $27.6 million worldwide,Wolf Manhas earned back its $25 million budget but has likely not quite broken even yet with marketing costs factored in. Furthermore,Den of Thieves 2may be seeing its last weekend in the top 10, having dropped to #9 since its strong opening weekend, making another $3 million.
Other Takeaways From The January 24-26 Weekend Box Office
The Oscars Begin To Have Their Say At The Box Office
While Phoebe Dynevor’s thrillerInheritancequietly landed at #26, Best Picture nomineesA Complete UnknownandThe Brutalistalso had relatively good weekends.A Complete Unknownmade 17.3% less than last weekend but is holding its position in the top 10 a month after its release, now bolstered by its nominations. On the other hand,The Brutalistsurged with a 45.5% increase, bringing it back into the top 10, generally impressive considering that it is a three-and-a-half-hour movie. Even afterThe Brutalist’s AI controversy, it seems to be the movie reaping the most benefit from the Oscar nominations being announced.
Wickeddropped below the top 10, signaling that it may be finally running out of steam, while other Oscars contenders are getting a boost.Nickel Boyssaw a small uptake, whileI’m Still Here, arguably the most surprising Best Picture nomination of 2025, beat outThe Brutalistin one major metric.WhileThe Brutalistis expanding into more theaters, the January 24-26 weekend sawI’m Still Heretake away its spot for the highest per-theater average, making an average of $14,125 per theater (viaCollider).
However, while prestige films are enjoying their time of year, the power of a good family film is still a proven factor at the box office.Sonic the Hedgehog 3, more than a month after its premiere, held onto its #4 position from last week. Meanwhile,Moana 2slips up from sixth to fifth place. Notably, both movies made less than they did last weekend, even if their ranking stayed the same or improved. However, both will probably soon fall off the list with digital and streaming releases coming up.
What The January 24-26 Weekend Box Office Means For The Next Week
Flight Risk Could Go Either Way As Psychological Thrillers Take Over
Given how things played out forDen of Thieves 2,it is very possible thatFlight Riskwill begin to drop next weekend as its reviews catch up with it.The BrutalistandI’m Still Heremay continue to do well, but the favor may also shift to other Oscar nominees, asAnora,Sing Sing, September 5, andNickel Boysare all still in theaters. Moviegoers who opted forFlight Riskmight also pay more attention toPresenceas word of mouth about its superior reviews spreads.
Next weekend will see the Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid-led psychological thrillerCompanionhit theaters, as well as DreamWorksDog Man. The former has great early reviews and while the latter might garner some good favor with the fans of the book series it is based on.Flight Riskcertainly got the perfect weekend for its release, but it is far behind even similarly reviewed action thrillers, lacking known IP to help it along. Overall, thebox officeis primed to see a shift away from typical action movies next week.
Source: Box Office Mojo, Variety Boxoffice Pro, Box Office Theory, Collider
