Paramount's Novocaine made $1.75 million in previews and the R-rated action comedy might lead the box office this weekend with anywhere from $8M-$12M,

Movie theaters haven’t exactly been bustling since the start of 2025 and the calendar year is about to turn in one of its most meagre frames yet. Even with two new wide releases - Paramount’s slapstick actioner “Novocaine” and Focus Features’ spy film “Black Bag” - exhibitors are in danger of a particularly beleaguered weekend,

This weekend’s films earned a total of $51 million across the board, per Box Office Mojo—the lowest-grossing weekend of 2025 to date. That’s even lower than the weekend of the Super Bowl, which is typically a quiet time,

Mickey 17” — "Parasite" director Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi comedy starring Robert Pattinson — is off to a rough start at the domestic box office.

“Novocaine” only cost $18 million to produce, so (like its main character) it shouldn’t be feeling any pain at the box office. On the flip side, “Mickey 17” cost $118 million to produce and needs around $275 million to $300 million worldwide to make a profit.

The Warner Bros. film, starring Robert Pattinson, still won the weekend despite coming in on the lower end of expectations.

Making a film that wins Best Picture earns a filmmaker a whole lot of industry clout when it comes to making their next project, and in the case of Bong Joon Ho, he swung big. Based on the book Mickey 7 by author Edward Ashton,

The Jack Quaid-led action comedy "Novocaine" will vie with last weekend's champion "Mickey 17" for the top spot on box office charts.

Greenlit in January 2022 under previous Warner film chairman Toby Emmerich, “Mickey 17” is acclaimed director Bong Joon-ho’s follow-up to his Best Picture Oscar winner “Parasite” and carries a reported production budget of $118 million.

Wait, wasn’t the impact from the strikes last year? If 2025 is going to be known for anything, it’s which weekend is the lowest at the box office. With Paramount’s new wide entry Novocaine and Warner Bros’ Mickey 17 doing about $8M each (many believe the Jack Quaid movie has the edge),

Though Novocaine, Quaid’s new superhero-ish film, is currently leading the weekend box office, that's not as impressive an achievement as it might sound. According to Deadline, the film has only managed to take in a rather unimpressive $8.