Jack Quaid’s new action comedy “Novocaine” topped the domestic box office this weekend with $8.7 million from 3,365 locations.
For @AP with a comprehensive look at a rather "numb" weekend at the box office is the amazing @ldbahr! – https://t.co/Pr1zjYfhMc – After a strong start to the year in which the box office was up 22%, several slow weekends that haven’t surpassed $60 million in total ticket sales…
— Paul Dergarabedian (@PDergarabedian) March 16, 2025
The R-rated film, released by Paramount Pictures, received generally positive reviews with an 82% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B CinemaScore from audiences. Despite the debut of “Novocaine” and other new releases like the spy thriller “Black Bag” starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, overall ticket sales were sluggish.
With @Comscore @csMoviesUS @CSGlobalMovies exclusive stats in great reporting for @Variety is @rebeccaarubin over this rather slow, but nevertheless interesting weekend at the box office – https://t.co/kD5WDpCCiQ Despite five new nationwide releases, this weekend was among the…
— Paul Dergarabedian (@PDergarabedian) March 16, 2025
The weekend’s total gross is estimated to be around $54 million, making it one of the lowest-earning weekends of the year so far. “Black Bag” and the Bong Joon Ho sci-fi film “Mickey 17” were in a close race for second place, each reporting $7.5 million in earnings. “Mickey 17,” which stars Robert Pattinson, continued to play in 3,807 theaters but experienced a 60% drop from its opening week.
WKND #BoxOffice Chart
▶️ #Novocaine tops painful wknd
▶️ More new films pick up scraps
▶️ #CaptainAmerica hopes for $200M
▶️ TOP 10 sinks to weak $45.2M, -46% vs last year when Kung Fu Panda 4 was top pandaCheck NEW WKND chart right now at: https://t.co/Bddzz9HNCr.
— Gitesh Pandya (TikTok @gitesh.pandya) (@GiteshPandya) March 16, 2025
Quaid’s comedy debuts at box office
Its domestic total now stands at $33.3 million, with a global total of $90.5 million against a reported budget of $118 million. Other new releases included “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie,” which earned $3.2 million from 2,827 theaters, and the faith-based film “The Last Supper,” which grossed $2.8 million from 1,575 theaters.
Disney and Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” rounded out the top five with $5.5 million in its fifth weekend. The superhero sequel, starring Anthony Mackie, has earned $185.4 million domestically and $388.6 million worldwide to date. Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, noted that the box office is “a momentum business” and expects things to pick up with the release of “Snow White” next weekend.
However, after a strong start to the year, a series of underperforming weekends has left the domestic box office at a 5% deficit compared to the same period last year.
Photo by; Kam Idris on Unsplash
