Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed One Battle After Another won the weekend box office, though the road to profitability will be itself a battle after another over the following weekends. Deadline reports that One Battle After Another took the number one spot at the weekend box office with an estimated $22.4 million opening weekend at the domestic box office, and a $48.5 million worldwide debut, marking the biggest opening weekend for director Paul Thomas Anderson. Meanwhile, The Strangers: Chapter 2 opened at number five at the box office with a disappointing $5.9 million, down 50% from the $11.8 million opening weekend of The Strangers: Chapter 1 back in the summer of 2024.
One of the bigger surprises of the weekend was Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, the live-action adaptation of the popular Netflix animated series, took the number two spot at the box office with an impressive $13.7 million estimated opening weekend. The top five was rounded out by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle and The Conjuring: Last Rites at numbers three and four, respectively. Last week’s two new releases, Him and A Big Beautiful Journey, experienced terrible second-weekend drops. Him had a 72% drop to sixth place, bringing in $3.6 million, while A Big Beautiful Journey dropped out of the top ten to number eleven with $1.25 million at a 62% drop.
One Box Office Battle After Another
One Battle After Another is likely to garner a lot of attention, as it has already become director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second-highest-grossing film, surpassing There Will Be Blood in just one weekend of release. With a reported production budget of $140 million, One Battle After Another has a long way to go until it is deemed profitable in the theatrical market. However, thanks to great reviews from critics and audiences, including an A CinemaScore and a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film may receive an added boost in the coming weeks as more audiences become curious to check out what all the hype is about. One Battle After Another is already generating Oscar buzz, and while the award show is months away, Warner Bros. might be able to build some momentum off the early buzz.
Regarding the strong debut of Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, Universal’s Domestic Distribution Chief Jim Orr said in a statement to Deadline, “Not surprisingly, Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie was incredibly well received at the domestic box office this weekend with audience reaction scores that point to a long, successful run going forward. Its devoted fans loved seeing their beloved characters in a new adventure on the big screen.” With the theatrical market largely devoid of family films until Zootopia 2 hits theaters in late November, Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie might hold well in the coming weeks and has the potential to make its $32 million production budget. If nothing else, the movie will certainly generate a lot of merchandise sales.
The Strangers: Chapter 2 is a big question mark for now. While the $5.9 million opening weekend is disappointing, the movie only cost $8.5 million to make, so it theoretically could recoup its budget. However, word of mouth on The Strangers: Chapter 2 is extremely negative, with a C- CinemaScore and an abysmal 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. This suggests the movie could face a massive drop in the coming weeks, leaving doubts about what the future holds for the completed Strangers: Chapter 3.
- Release Date
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September 26, 2025
- Runtime
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162 minutes
