With sluggish ticket sales and no major new releases, the 2025 Oscar weekend marks one of the weakest in a decade.
March 3, 2025: Oscar weekend, typically an exciting time for cinemas, turned out to be a box office letdown this year, with overall domestic revenue estimated between $56 million and $57 million, marking the lowest Oscar weekend earnings in over a decade (barring the pandemic-affected 2021).
The lack of major new releases and the availability of most Oscar-nominated films on digital platforms contributed to the decline, while Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World held onto the top spot in its third weekend with a $15 million haul, bringing its domestic total to $163.7 million and $341.8 million worldwide.
Box Office Highlights
1. Captain America: Brave New World Holds No. 1 Spot (Again!)
- Weekend Collection: $15M
- Domestic Total: $163.7M
- Worldwide Total: $341.8M
Despite a steep 69% drop in its second weekend, Captain America: Brave New World saw a moderate 47% decline this time, showing stronger staying power than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While its numbers are below typical MCU third-weekend earnings, it remains far from the franchise’s worst performers (The Marvels, Eternals).
2. Last Breath Opens at No. 2 with $7.8M
Also Read: ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Crosses $300M Globally, But Faces Tough Road Ahead
- Opening Weekend: $7.8M
- CinemaScore: B+
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 90%
Focus Features’ deep-sea survival thriller, starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole, exceeded expectations at the box office despite being a small-scale genre film.
3. Other Top Five Performers
- Neon’s The Monkey secured the No. 3 spot with $6.4M, pushing its domestic total to $24.6M against a $10M budget.
- Paddington in Peru collected $4.5M, bringing its North American total to $31.4M.
- DreamWorks’ Dog Man earned $4.2M in its fifth weekend, crossing $100M globally ($113.1M total).
Oscar Nominees See a Box Office Bump
Despite the slow weekend, Oscar-nominated films still in theaters saw a notable jump ahead of the 97th Academy Awards:
- Neon’s Anora surged 137% in ticket sales.
- A24’s The Brutalist climbed 24%.
- Conclave, a major best-picture contender, has now grossed $32.5M domestically and $101.4M worldwide.
- A Complete Unknown crossed $119M globally ($73.8M in North America).
- The highest-grossing Oscar nominees remain Wicked ($730M) and Dune: Part Two ($716.4M) worldwide.
Why Was This Oscar Weekend So Weak?
📉 Lack of Big Releases: Unlike past years with heavy hitters (Kung Fu Panda 4, Scream VI), there was no major new blockbuster.
📉 Streaming Effect: Most Oscar-nominated films were already available on digital platforms, limiting their theatrical appeal.
📉 Superhero Fatigue? While Captain America led, its numbers suggest superhero films are struggling to dominate like they once did.
Looking Ahead
With no major releases this weekend, all eyes are on the upcoming slate—including Kung Fu Panda 5 and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire—to revive the box office in March.
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