Director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man finally hit theaters over the weekend, but it’s off to a pretty rough start. While the re-imagining of the monster classic was originally pegged to top the charts, it came in well below expectations, placing at number three behind the surprise winner, Sony’s comedy One of Them Days (J$11.6 million) and Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King ($11.5 million), which has been in theaters since Christmas. Things didn't go as planned for Blumhouse and Universal’s new take on the werewolf mythos, to put it mildly.
Wolf Man opened to just $10.5 million. Heading into the weekend, analysts widely believed the film would easily top the charts with around $20 million. That’s not exactly how things panned out. It might benefit a touch from the MLK holiday on Monday but that's only going to help so much. So, what went wrong here? Critics were pretty mixed on the film (read Fango’s review here), but audiences are what really matter and they just weren’t having it. The film earned a very lousy C- CinemaScore and carries a 58% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That means word of mouth is going to be terrible. So expect a huge drop off next weekend.
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To make matters even worse, international numbers were also soft for Whannell’s latest in the early going. The film made just $4.8 million overseas to start, giving it a $15.3 million start. Normally, Blumhouse productions have the advantage of being cheap, which can act as something of an insurance policy. Unfortunately, Wolf Man carries a $25 million price tag, which doesn’t account for marketing. There is little by way of good news here.
The new take on the werewolf centers on a family that gets attacked by something strange out in the remote wilderness of Oregon. Before long, the dad starts acting strange. Things get hairy from then on out. Be it the studio’s reluctance to show the monster in the marketing until very late in the game or word of mouth poisoning the well, this is a tough pill to swallow. Particularly in light of Whannell’s track record, given that he directed both Upgrade and The Invisible Man.
Elsewhere, Robert Egggers’ Nosferatu continued its surprisingly great run. The film added another $4.3 million to its ever-growing total over the weekend. Its global tally now stands at $156.4 million. Even with a $50 million price tag, this is a home run for Focus Features. It stands a real shot at touching $200 million before all’s said and done.
In non-horror news, Disney’s Moana 2 passed the $1 billion mark globally over the weekend. That would be big news for any movie. However, this one was originally supposed to go directly to Disney+ – as a series no less. The fact that it went to theaters and became a monster hit instead is a win for those who cherish the theatrical experience.
Looking ahead, horror fans of Steven Soderbergh’s unique supernatural flick Presence arriving this upcoming weekend, alongside Mel Gibson’s thriller Flight Risk. To round out the month, director Drew Hancock’s sci-fi flick Companion arrives on January 31. This one has some real buzz, as it stars Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, with Zach Cregger, of Barbarian fame, producing.
You can check out the full list of the top ten movies at the box office for the weekend of January 17, 2025, below. For more, check out Fango’s list of the 10 best werewolf movies to watch right now.
- One of Them Days – $11.6 million (first weekend
- Mufasa: The Lion King – $11.5 million (fifth weekend)
- Wolf Man – $10.5 million – (first weekend)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 – $8.6 million (fifth weekend)
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera – $6.6 million (second weekend)
- Moana 2 – $6 million (eighth weekend)
- Nosferatu – $4.3 million (fourth weekend)
- A Complete Unknown – $3.79 million (fourth weekend)
- Wicked – $3.5 million (ninth weekend)
- Babygirl – $2 million (fourth weekend)
