The September box office saw a significant slowdown, plummeting 49% from the previous weekend to approximately $77 million. Two films, Sony/Crunchyroll's 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle' and Universal/Monkeypaw's 'Him,' engaged in a close race for the number one position, each estimated to earn between $15 million and $16 million. While the final rankings remain unclear, both studios have positioned their films as top contenders.
'Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle' continues its strong performance, although its second weekend drop of 77% reflects the typical front-loaded nature of anime films. Despite this, it's projected to surpass $100 million domestically, setting a new record for anime films in the US.
'Him,' a horror film produced by Jordan Peele, opened strong on Friday with $6.47 million, yet received a C- CinemaScore and mixed reviews (28% Critics, 58% Audience on Rotten Tomatoes). Universal anticipates a 37% drop on Sunday due to NFL game competition.
In stark contrast, Sony's romantic drama, 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,' starring Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell, severely underperformed. With a budget of $50 million, it only managed to gross around $3.5 million, landing in sixth place. The film, an original story with a hot script from The Black List, failed to connect with audiences due to poor reviews (38% on Rotten Tomatoes) and mixed audience scores (44% definite recommend, 2 1/2 stars on PostTrak and a B- CinemaScore). While the cast and crew praised the experience, the final product evidently deviated significantly from the script's vision.
The film's underperformance highlights the limitations of star power alone without a strong script and positive reviews. While possessing a substantial social media reach (266 million across various platforms, exceeding other romance films by 57%), RelishMix reports mixed to negative audience sentiment, with many viewers labeling it as sentimental and lacking substance. Comparisons to 'Black Mirror' and even AI-generated commercials further contributed to the negative perception.
'Him' showcased a 51%/49% male-to-female audience split, with a low 41% definite recommendation. However, its horror genre provided it with a larger audience pull than the romantic drama. 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' attracted a predominantly female audience (59%), with women over 25 representing its most enthusiastic demographic (71% positive on PostTrak).
Early Friday previews suggest a mixed bag across the board: 'Him' secured $2 million from previews, exceeding other recent horror releases; 'Demon Slayer' showed continued strength, building anticipation for its upcoming $100 million milestone; while 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' debuted weakly with only $400,000 in Thursday previews, pointing towards its poor box office performance.
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Originally published at: https://deadline.com/2025/09/box-office-demon-slayer-him-big-bold-beautiful-journey-1236549266/
