The box office had an up and down year but we’re ending 2025 on a strong note. James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash led the pack over the Christmas weekend with $64 million but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The top seven movies on the charts all made at least $10 million domestically, which rarely happens anymore. For Sony, that means the Anaconda reboot was able to eat well even though it didn’t come close to topping the charts.
See also: 5 Snake Horror Films To Watch Before The ANACONDA Reboot
Directed by Tom Gormican (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), Anaconda pulled in an estimated $14.5 million domestically over the weekend, good enough for fifth place on the charts. It debuted just below Paul Feig’s thriller The Housemaid, which made another $15.4 million after its impressive opening weekend. But Sony’s new meta creature feature opened on Xmas day, meaning it had more than just the weekend to rake it in. Overall, it pulled in $23.6 million in the U.S. to go with $20 million overseas for a $43.6 million global start.
The movie carries a very reasonable $45 million budget. If it can leg out into January, Sony may well have a hit on its hands. Jack Black and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers star Paul Rudd lead the cast. What’s interesting is that it's not far off from the original Anaconda in ‘97, which also carried a $45 million budget, opened to $16.6 million and finished with just shy of $140 million worldwide.
The reboot centers on Doug (Black) and Griff (Rudd), who have been best friends since they were kids and always dreamed of remaking their favorite movie, Anaconda. A midlife crisis pushes them to finally do it but as they head into the Amazon to start filming, an actual giant anaconda appears.
This has become a shockingly enduring franchise for Sony. The first sequel, 2004’s Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, was also released theatrically but then it became a direct-to-video/made-for-TV franchise, with 2008’s Anaconda 3: Offspring, 2009’s Anacondas: Trail of Blood and 2015’s Lake Placid vs. Anaconda arriving in the ensuing years.
Critics have been mixed on the new meta entry in the series, but even against stiff competition such as Marty Supreme ($15.5 million), among others, this giant monster movie held its own, with audiences seeking it out. It’s a credit to Black’s star power, as he’s demonstrated an ability to meaningfully sell tickets at a time when the box office is very uncertain. Borderlands is the only misfire in the actor’s recent theatrical output, but that can hardly be blamed on him. The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.3 billion), Kung Fu Panda 4 ($548 million) and A Minecraft Movie ($958 million). This now serves as another feather in his cap.
Anaconda is in theaters now. For more, check out our list of can’t miss monster movies.
