WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE FOR WEEK ENDING MARCH 9, 2025
A film's gross for the last seven days, followed by its total worldwide gross.
I begin with data from Comscore and then pull from every other source available.
1. Ne Zha 2–$116m / $2.096b worldwide total
2. Mickey 17–$44m / $53m ww
3. Captain America: Brave New World–$29m /$371m ww
4. Detective Chinatown 1900–$21m / $498m ww
5. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy–$14m / $111m ww
6. The Monkey–$14m / $52m ww
7. Paddington in Peru–$12m / $176m ww
8. Chhaava–$10m / $80m ww
9. Mufasa: The Lion King–$7m / $709m ww
10. Dog Man–$7m / $120m ww
11. Last Breath–$7m / $15m ww
12. Anora–$6m / $54m ww
13. I'm Still Here–$5m / $35m ww
14. Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants–$4m / $96m ww
15. The Brutalist–$4m / $45m ww
16. Night of the Zoopocalypse–$4m ww debut
17. Conclave–$3m / $104m ww
18. National Theatre: Prima Facie–$3m / $4m ww
19. Always Have, Always Will–$3m ww debut
20. Moana 2–$2m / $1,056b ww
21. Sonic The Hedgehog 3–$2m /$488m ww
22. There's Still Tomorrow–$2m / $52m ww
23. Hotline Beijing–$2m / $9m ww
24. Girls On Wire–$2m ww debut
25. Rule Breakers–$2m ww debut
26. A Complete Unknown–$1m / $121m ww
27. One of Them Days–$1m / $49m ww
28. Companion–$1m / $35m ww
29. Heart Eyes–$1m / $32m ww
30. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX-Beginning–$1m / $21m ww
31. Dragon–$1m / $14m ww
32. Becoming Led Zeppelin–$1m / $11m ww
33. The Unbreakable Boy–$1m / $6m ww
34. Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning–$1m / $3m
35. In The Lost Lands–$1m ww debut
Bold: movies that have or likely will triple their reported budgets. That's my standard for a movie being a box office hit from theatrical alone. Many films will be profitable for a studio even if they don't triple their reported budget, but it's a good marker to indicate a big hit.
ANALYSIS
Another slow week at the box office. Things won't pick up in North America until the live action Snow White opens March 21 and (hopefully) Thunderbolts* on May 2, with hopefully some surprises from The Accountant 2 with Ben Affleck and Sinners with Michael B. Jordan and Death of a Unicorn with a unicorn, along the way. You always need surprise hits while waiting for the Mission: Impossibles and Avatars of the year.
Many stories reviewed the budget of Mickey 17 from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-Ho and star Robert Pattinson more than the actual movie. Hey, that's my job! But most takes on it are fairly accurate. Bong's biggest box office hit by far is Parasite, which grossed $260m worldwide, with his best film The Host very profitable at $100m worldwide on an $11mb cost. His bigger budget movies are more problematic. Snowpiercer cost $40mb and grossed $87m worldwide. (No one lost money on this film, I think. It likely over-performed post-theatrical and even led to a TV series that ran for four seasons. Okja is even nuttier than his new movie but cost $50mb and Netflix couldn't be bothered with a theatrical release. Still, given its polarizing nature and mixed reviews, one doubts it would have triumphed commercially.
But you win an Oscar and pitch a sci-fi movie with Robert Pattinson, you get the biggest budget of your career. Mickey 17 cost $118mb, or as I like to call it since I'm not an accountant like Ben Affleck, $120mb. (The math is easier.) So it needs to vastly outperform Parasite to be a winner from box office alone. We'll have to wait until its second week to see if it's holding people's attention (unlikely), but I wouldn't dismiss this as a project that should never have been made. (Now if they'd spent $120mb on Okja, I'd agree with you.) On paper, Mickey 17 is not so crazy. Let's see where it ends up on the worldwide box office. And with its cynical take on corporations seeing employees as disposable tools, it's got cult favorite written all over it. Double bill with Office Space anyone?
Looking for good news? China's animated smash Ne Zha 2 continues to rewrite the rules on what is possible at the box office. (And James Cameron must be jealous.) It was the first film to gross $1 billion from one market alone. And now it's the first film to gross $2 billion from one market alone. The ball is in your court, Avatar: Fire and Ash! That's...astonishing.
After the Oscars (remember them?), several films enjoyed a big bounce at the box office. Best Picture winner (!) Anora grossed another $6m (its entire budget, by the way) and is now at $54m worldwide. Best International Film winner–Brazil's worthy I'm Still Here–grossed $5m and is at $35m worldwide. The Brutalist pulled in another $4m for a total of $45m worldwide. Conclave grossed $3m to sit at $104m worldwide. All of them are big box office hits from theatrical alone. Finally, A Complete Unknown pulled in $1m for a total of $121m worldwide. Given its budget, this film is not a success from theatrical alone (it cost a hefty $60mb), but like Gladiator 2, it just feels like a success to most. Certainly, it will be a financial winner when all is said and done. (Theatrical is just the beginning of a movie's earnings.) But I guess we can't count on a spin-off with Monica Barbaro in the Joan Baez story anytime soon.
Anora and the Italian hit drama There's Still Tomorrow (at #22) are both hits, but they're not on my list of winners for 2025 because they made most of their money in 2024.
However, I have added two films to our list of winners below. The anime film Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX-Beginning is pulled from the first episodes of the latest season of the same-named TV series. Given Wikipedia's claim that it's grossed $21m worldwide, it's undoubtedly a very profitable venture, not just great promo for the show. (Even Game of Thrones didn't make that much at the box office when they sneaked final episodes of season four in theaters.) The other hit is a screening of a taped stage show: National Theatre: Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer of Killing Eve. This opened in China (!) and grossed what I can only describe as an astonishing and unexpected $3m, giving this a worldwide total of $4m so far. Sometimes the recordings of operas prove rather pricey (relatively speaking) but even without a reported budget for this project, I'm calling this a hit. Found money!
Coming this week? The retired director Steven Soderbergh has his second release of 2025 with the Black Bag, a stylish, well-reviewed thriller starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett. Proud parents Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan will be the first in line to see their son Jack Quaid in the action comedy Novocaine. Finally, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is an original animated film starring Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. It was bizarrely orphaned by Warner Bros./HBO Max and is being released theatrically by others. Here's hoping it's a big hit so they look as foolish as Universal does for putting Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy straight to streaming in North America rather than putting it in theaters. If this flick hits, maybe we'll get to see that Batgirl movie after all!
2025 HIT FILMS
Here's a list of all the hit films making money in 2025. My rule of thumb is that films should gross roughly at least three times as much as their reported budget. Some people now say a movie need only make 2 1/2 times as much as their budget but I'm sticking with the traditional formula. Of course, we don't really know a movie's budget or the cost of advertising or the backroom deals. Remember, just because a movie isn't a hit from theatrical alone doesn't mean they're losing money. Far from it. We can't dive deep into Hollywood accounting. But we can spot the really big hits that will change careers, launch franchises and generally pay the bills. A few international films probably made the cut but since I don't have even a reported budget, I hate to reward them with hit status. Also, I'll include movies from 2024 if they make the majority of their money in 2025. Finally, I identify the country for non-Hollywood movies. And I indicate the language Indian films were made in to celebrate the country's diverse industry, which is vibrant and includes much more than the Hindi-language Bollywood Westerners knew best. Here goes.
Big Budget ($100mb+)
Detective Chinatown 1900 (China) ($125mb est)
Mid-sized budget ($21mb-$99mb)
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy ($50mb)
Dog Man ($40mb)
Ne Zha 2 (China) ($80mb)
Nosferatu ($50mb)
Small Budget ($20mb or less)
Babygirl ($20mb)
Becoming Led Zeppelin (>$2mb)
The Brutalist ($10mb)
Chhaava (Indian/Hindi) ($15mb)
Companion ($10mb)
Conclave ($20mb)
Dragon (Indian/Tamil) ($4mb)
I'm Still Here ($2mb)
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX-Beginning (pulled from epi of tv anime series)
National Theatre: Prima Facie ($?mb)
One of Them Days ($14mb)
Presence ($2mb)
NOTES
mb = a film's budget in millions of US dollars; ww = worldwide
1. Ne Zha 2–Reported $80mb. Chinese animated fantasy sequel to the 2019 smash which cost about $20m and grossed $743m. A spin-off film Jiang Ziya was hobbled by COVID but grossed $243m. Now we have the direct sequel Ne Zha 2, which cost $80m and finds our spunky heroine (based on a famed mythological character around for centuries) taking on sea monsters. The series is based on Investiture of the Gods by Xu Zhonglin from the 16th century.
2. Mickey 17–$120mb for director Bong Joon-ho's slapstick sci-fi comedy. Once again, a tip of the hat to actor Robert Pattinson for forging a very interesting career.
3. Captain America: Brave New World–$180mb.
4. Detective Chinatown 1900–$125mb at least? This is the fourth in a wildly popular buddy comedy mystery series. Think oh, Rush Hour? 48 Hours? Each film cost more than the one before and grossed more. Since we're on film #4 and it's a period movie set in San Francisco, it's safe to assume this cost more than #3, which cost $117m and grossed $686m worldwide. I mean, $150mb is probably more realistic, at least, but even at that level it's still a hit. Oh and clues in this one indicate the next film in the series will be set in London. So, Detective Chinatown 1920, here we come.
5. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy–$50mb and straight to streaming in the world's biggest market because? Yes, it's only at $100m. But the film made $24m this week, so even if it drops by 50% next week and the week after and ends up at $120m, I'm calling it a hit. The more money it makes, the stupider they look for going straight to streaming in North America.
6. The Monkey -- $10m reported budget means this adaptation of a Stephen King short story is a box office winner right out of the gate. Cheap horror films are money in the bank...but 2025 has so many I have to assume audiences will become sick and tired of them any minute now. Not forever, not all of them, but surely the surfeit of slasher flicks will prove too much of a good thing. Just not yet.
7. Paddington in Peru–$90mb? Sadly, three times is not the charm artistically or commercially for this once-perfect franchise.
8. Chhaava–$15mb Indian/Hindi language action historical epic.
9. Mufasa: The Lion King–$200mb.
10. Dog Man–A reported $40mb. It's always good to gross your budget on opening week. Plus, the books are funny, the reviews are good, the audience response is great and it has the rest of the world to open in. So get ready for Dog Man 2.
11. Last Breath–$24mb for this Nicolas Cage deep-sea diving drama.
12. Anora–A reported $6mb for Sean Baker's comic drama. I believe it made a majority of its money in 2024, so that's why it's not among the box office hits of 2025.
13. I'm Still Here–this Brazilian Oscar contender has no reported budget, though one Portuguese article says $1.5m, which certainly sounds reasonable, so I'll call it at $2mb. It's a success even if it cost three times that.
14. Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Gallants–$70mb per one Chinese source. A wuxia martial arts period adventure film written and directed by the legendary Tsui Hark. It's based on part of the novel of the same name by Jin Yong. According to one report it's the highest grossing wuxia film at the Chinese box office. That would mean it made more than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and every local box office hit. Mostly Hark would be competing with himself. His budgets bounce up and down, from the massive $200mb for both The Battle at Lake Changjin 1 and 2 (which he co-directed), and $60mb for some Detective Dee movies and down to $20mb or $30mb for various other flicks. One vague Chinese source says it cost $70mb. If they make a sequel, I'll then consider this one a hit! When they make more, surely a movie must be a winner.
21. Sonic The Hedgehog 3–$120mb
22. There's Still Tomorrow–Italian drama about woman after WW II deciding maybe she doesn't want to be in an abusive relationship. A blockbuster in Italy, this was a box office winner for 2024.
23. Hotline Beijing–No reported budget or info on Chinese film.
24. Girls On Wire–Chinese drama directed by Vivian Qu in which a single mom kills a drug lord and then must go on the run to avoid retribution.
25. Rule Breakers–$8mb reported budget for the latest faith-based film from Angel Studios. This one is about an educator who dares to teach young women in Afghanistan.
26. A Complete Unknown–$60mb+ for this Bob Dylan biopic? That's a lot of money for a film about Dylan going electric at Newport. I mean, I wanted to see it but then I'm a Dylan fanatic. But $180m worldwide seems highly unlikely to me, if not impossible. (Do other countries give a toss about this? Is Chalamet a big enough draw for this story? I doubt it.) I'm glad it was made, but it was made for too much. Like Gladiator II, this will be seen as a commercial success, but it's not. UPDATE: Well, it keeps going and going and maybe Chalamet is a worldwide draw now, thanks to Wonka and the Dune films and he can bring in people to a serious drama like this. More power to him. It's now at $120m and grossed an excellent $15m this week. If it gets close to $150m, I'll happily eat crow and call it a hit. It's already a good example of a movie that may not be technically profitable from box office alone but is clearly a financial success story that will be a valuable title in anyone's library, pulling in plenty via rentals and sales and cable and streaming and the like. Now where's the sequel where Dylan goes born again Christian? Or the spin-off telling the story of Joan Baez? Seriously, that one should be done like, now.
27. One of Them Days–$14mb. It's always good to gross your budget during a film's opening week. So yea for producer Issa Rae and this comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA. (What an opening week for SZA! Her movie opened well and she made my list of The 250 Best Albums of the 21st Century...So Far.)
30. Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX-Beginning–This film is pulled from the first episode(s) of the new season of a long-running anime series. So it should be gravy and just good pr for the new season launch. But $21m worldwide is an excellent return for episodes pulled from a TV anime series.
32. Becoming Led Zeppelin–Long-gestating doc broke into the Top 10 on opening weekend, playing on IMAX screens only. In its second weekend, the film has an excellent hold. This traditional doc (talking heads, concert footage) has already grossed $6m, which is serious money for this type of film. There is no reported budget, but given all that I know, it seems likely the total was $2mb or less, so this is a winner.
33. The Unbreakable Boy–heartwarming family film about little boy who has a rare bone disease and autism, but also has a zest for life that wins over everyone.
34. Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning–A Korean animated horror film about a priest partnering with magic-wielding monks to battle a demon and protect a child. We just don't get animated films like that in the U.S. Maybe Ralph Bakshi should have moved overseas to get his projects made?
35. In The Lost Lands–$55mb reported budget for this fantasy film starring Milla Jovovich and David Bautista based on a short story by George R.R. Martin. Maybe Martin won't be so harsh on the tv series House of Dragons after seeing this.
THE CHART AND HOW IT IS COMPILED
This column is a week by week tracking of box office around the world. It is compiled by pulling from every possible source: ComScore, Box Office Mojo, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, charts for countries like China and India and South Korea, individual stories in trade or general interest newspapers, Wikipedia and anyone else discussing box office.
ComScore Weekly Global Box Office Chart
The weekly charts contain the total gross for every movie in theaters around the world during the last seven days. If a movie opens on a Thursday, we include all the box office from Thursday through Sunday. If it opens on a Tuesday night, we cover all six days. If it opens on a Sunday (as some movies do in India or wherever, depending on holidays), then we include the box office for that one day. If a movie was released before the current week, we include the box office for all seven days. Why ignore the box office from Monday through Thursday, as most charts do when tallying the latest weekend and focusing on new releases?
How do we arrive at this number? We take the total worldwide box office we have for a movie, subtract from it the previous week's total worldwide box office...and that's how much it made during the past seven days. Naturally, territories and movies sometimes fall through the cracks but we are as up to date as we can be, given our dependence on other outlets for the basic info.
First, I list box office on every film we can from around the world. Any movie grossing at least US $1 million will be on here if we get info on it. Then I give some thoughts on the box office overall and individual films. That's followed by notes where I give info on each movie, with a focus on films not from Hollywood. So Despicable Me 4 you know. But a small Korean comedy or French drama? That I'll identify for you as best I can.
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