Family-Friendly 'GOAT' Tops Box Office in Quiet Weekend
In a subdued weekend for North American cinemas, Sony Pictures Animation's family film 'GOAT' narrowly outperformed Warner Bros' R-rated adaptation 'Wuthering Heights' to claim the top spot at the box office. According to studio estimates released on Sunday, 'GOAT' earned $17 million in its second weekend, while 'Wuthering Heights' brought in $14.2 million.
Second-Weekend Showdown Highlights Slow Market
The competition between these holdover films unfolded against a backdrop of limited new releases, with all fresh offerings failing to surpass the $10 million mark. This quiet period saw 'GOAT' experience a modest 38% decline from its opening weekend, a drop attributed by the studio to positive word-of-mouth. The animated feature, produced by Stephen Curry and featuring the voice of Caleb McLaughlin from 'Stranger Things', has now accumulated $58.3 million domestically and $102.3 million globally.
In contrast, 'Wuthering Heights' saw a steeper 57% decline from its debut, bringing its domestic total to $60 million. The film has performed strongly internationally, adding $26.3 million this weekend for a global total of $151.7 million against an $80 million production budget. The United Kingdom remains its top international market, contributing $22.5 million alone.
Other Releases Struggle to Make an Impact
The weekend's new entries faced significant challenges. Lionsgate and Kingdom Story's faith-based sequel 'I Can Only Imagine 2' opened in third place with $8 million, a notable decrease from the original film's $17 million launch in 2018, though this was anticipated. Despite the lower opening, it achieved a rare A+ CinemaScore from audiences.
Further down the list, Amazon and MGM's heist thriller 'Crime 101', starring Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, fell 59% to $5.8 million in its second weekend, placing fourth. The film has now grossed $24.7 million against a reported $90 million budget. Rounding out the top five was 'Send Help' with $4.5 million.
Critical and Commercial Disappointments
Several releases faced both critical and commercial setbacks. A24's black comedy 'How to Make a Killing', starring Glen Powell and directed by John Patton Ford, opened in sixth place with $3.6 million. The film, loosely inspired by 'Kind Hearts and Coronets', has been poorly received by critics, holding a "rotten" 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Even more dismal was the performance of 20th Century Studios' horror-thriller 'Psycho Killer', which debuted outside the top ten with only $1.6 million from 1,110 theaters. Directed by Gavin Polone in his feature debut, the film currently has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and received lukewarm audience responses, with only 31% of viewers indicating they would "definitely recommend" it according to PostTrak data.
Limited Release Bright Spot
One positive note came from Baz Luhrmann's immersive documentary 'EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert', which earned $3.3 million from just 325 IMAX locations in its limited release. The film is scheduled to expand to nationwide distribution on February 27, potentially boosting its performance in coming weeks.
Weekend Box Office Rankings
Final domestic figures, incorporating estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in US and Canadian theaters according to Comscore, placed the films as follows:
- GOAT: $17 million
- Wuthering Heights: $14.2 million
- I Can Only Imagine 2: $8 million
- Crime 101: $5.8 million
- Send Help: $4.5 million
- How to Make a Killing: $3.6 million
- EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert: $3.3 million
- Solo Mio: $2.6 million
- Zootopia 2: $2.3 million
- Avatar: Fire and Ash: $1.8 million
This weekend's results underscore a broader trend of audience selectivity and the challenges facing new releases in a competitive entertainment landscape, where established franchises and positive word-of-mouth continue to drive performance even during traditionally slow periods.
