"One Battle After Another," Paul Thomas Anderson’s widely acclaimed American epic of rebellion and resistance, opened with $22.4 million in ticket sales from North American theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Anderson’s ultracontemporary opus signifies a major gamble by Warner Bros. With "One Battle After Another," the studio is making a $130 million-plus bet that audiences would come out for 170-minute-long powerhouse drama from one of cinema’s most celebrated auteurs the way they usually only turn up for a franchise or superhero movie.
Anderson, many critics said, delivered the movie of year. "One Battle After Another," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn, has been hailed as a film brimming with many of the political conflicts of today. Oscar prognosticators have pegged it this year’s best-picture front-runner. Aided by DiCaprio’s drawing power, the film added $26.1 million overseas.
But good reviews, star power and a marquee filmmaker are nowadays often insufficient to make a hit. For a movie that cost at least $130 million to make, plus many millions more to market, "One Battle After Another" will have a long road to reach profitability. For most releases with such a high budget, a $22.4 million start would be a disappointment.
Executives for Warner Bros. declined to be interviewed about the opening.
Yet "One Battle After Another," like movies from earlier movie eras, will hope its time in theaters is more about the long run than opening weekend. Warners is hoping word-of-mouth, awards conversation and a rolling awareness that "One Battle After Another" is a major movie event, will keep ticket sales strong in the weeks, or even months, to come.
Some signs suggest that’s possible. Audiences gave "One Battle After Another" an "A" CinemaScore. That’s far better than CinemaScores for previous Anderson wide releases, including 1997’s "Boogie Nights" ("C"), 1999’s "Magnolia" ("C-") and 2002’s "Punch-Drunk Love" ("D+).
"The long-term playability is going to be key for this," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. "And given the outpouring of support by critics and audiences, alike, that's where it's going to make back its budget."
Yet as highly regarded as Anderson is, his films have rarely made a big impact at the box office. His biggest hit was 2007’s "There Will Be Blood," which collected $76.4 million worldwide.
For Warner Bros., "One Battle After Another" marked its ninth movie this year to open No. 1, more than any other studio. That success — with $4 billion in global sales — has included some refreshingly original films that haven’t always made their most obvious way into theaters.
Warners released Ryan Coogler’s "Sinners" in April, and it went on to gross $366.7 million worldwide. "One Battle After Another" chose to opt out of the usual fall festival platforms for prestige films, and first screened while most critics were in Venice or Toronto. Yet "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" will likely be favorites for many of the same prizes in the coming awards season.
Anderson’s film, loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s "Vineland," stars DiCaprio as a former revolutionary living off the grid with his teenage daughter (Chase Infiniti). Shot in VistaVision, "One Battle After Another" played in several large-screen formats, including 70mm, IMAX, 70mm and, on four screens, in VistaVision.
Second place went "Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie." The Universal Pictures release, produced by DreamWorks Animation, grossed $13.5 million in 3,500 theaters. It’s a good start for the G-rated film, based on the long-running series. "Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie," which cost $32 million to make, also earned an "A+" CinemaScore from audiences.
After two weeks atop the charts Sony Pictures and Crunchyroll’s sleeper hit "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle" slid to third place. It added $7.1 million to its $118.1 million haul, a North American record for anime releases.
