It was a very, very busy weekend at the box office as we are rapidly headed towards the end of 2025, with Christmas right around the corner. While the pack of newcomers was naturally led by James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash ($88 million) in North America, several other new releases had room to run as well. One of those movies was director Paul Feig's thriller The Housemaid, which did quite well for itself. In doing so, it broke a bad streak for Sydney Sweeney that was very much in need of breaking.
See also: The 25 Best Horror Movies Of 2025
The Housemaid opened to an estimated $18.9 million in the U.S., good enough for third place on the charts behind the animated, faith-based movie David ($22 million). The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants also opened to $16 million, making it a very healthy weekend overall. But back to the topic at hand, Feig’s latest broke through the noise and, against a reported $35 million budget, is well-positioned to become a theatrical hit.
Sweeney stars alongside Amanda Seyfried in the movie, which has received decent reviews from critics but raves from audiences. Amelia Emberwing, writing for Fango, praised it for bringing back the erotic thriller. It’s all very good news for Sweeney who is one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars. Yet, she’d also been in a string of flops over the last year that had many questioning her true star power.
Her bad streak extends back to last year’s Marvel disaster Madame Web ($100 million worldwide/$80 million budget), though that was an ensemble piece that could hardly be blamed on her. This year, however, saw American, Eden and Christy all bombed and bombed badly in rapid succession, with Sweeney a much bigger factor in all three of those movies. So while Sweeney had led hits like Immaculate, things were looking rough. Fortunately, she was able to end 2025 on a high note.
The film is based on the popular book of the same name by Freida McFadden. It centers on Millie (Sweeney) whose new job with the wealthy Winchesters pulls her into a sexy, seductive game of secrets and power. The cast also includes Brandon Sklenar (Drop) and Michele Morrone (Subservience).
Looking ahead, Sony’s meta reboot of Anaconda is slithering into theaters on Christmas day, which will serve as the last big horror movie arriving in theaters this year. January, meanwhile, is loaded down with Primate, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Return to Silent Hill and Send Help all on deck.
The Housemaid is in theaters now. For more, get the lowdown on Sweeney’s upcoming
I Pretend to Be a Missing Girl.
