The Oscars pretty much completely overshadowed the box office over the weekend. Hollywood’s biggest night was the talk of the town, with director Sean Baker’s Anora pulling off several upsets to take home the biggest prizes, including Best Picture. Despite a slew of nominations, horror favorite The Substance took home just one statue for visual effects. Somewhat ironically, the night designed to highlight the beauty of the theatrical experience happened on a very dead weekend for movie theaters. Yet, that allowed Focus Features’ thriller Last Breath to suck up more oxygen than expected.
Last Breath pulled in $7.8 million in its debut domestically, which isn’t bad for a little-advertised thriller from a specialty studio. Directed by Alex Parkinson, this one just kind of snuck into theaters and, thanks to a lack of competition, became the de facto option for anyone looking to see a new movie. Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World stayed atop the charts for a third straight weekend with a weak $15 million.
Frankly, any weekend when our number one movie takes the top prize with less than $20 million, it’s not a great situation overall. Be that as it may, Focus benefited greatly. The underwater thriller still has a long way to go as it carries a $24 million production budget, but with solid reviews and very good worth of mouth from audiences, this one just might leg out in the coming weeks.
Based on a true story, the film centers on seasoned deep-sea divers as they battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface. The cast is led by Woody Harrelson (Venom: Let There Be Carnage), Simu Liu (Barbie), Finn Cole (Peaky Blinders) and Cliff Curtis (Doctor Sleep).
Meanwhile, Oz Perkins’ The Monkey held well after its stellar opening last weekend. The R-rated Stephen King adaptation took in $6.3 million in its second frame, good enough for third place on the charts. That’s about a 55% drop which isn’t bad, all things considered. The film has now earned $24.5 million domestically to go with $6.6 million overseas for a running total of $31.2 million. Not bad considering its $10 million budget.
Elsewhere, the slasher Heart Eyes stayed in the top ten for one more weekend simply because there was nothing in the way. Josh Ruben’s latest added $1.3 million on its fourth weekend bringing its running total to $31 million. Against an $18 million budget, it’s not quite what Sony was hoping for, unfortunately. It’s a real shame too considering the film got off to a great start in its first two weekends. Here’s hoping it can make up the difference on VOD.
Looking ahead, we don’t have another big, outright horror movie from a major studio until Blumhouse’s The Woman in the Yard hits theaters on March 28 to help close out the month. Needless to say, audiences will be ready for some spooky shenanigans by that time, which could set it up for a big opening, if all goes well.
You can see the full list of the top ten movies at the box office for the weekend of February 28, 2025, below. For more, check out the FANGORIA #27 subscriber cover, which pays tribute to the late, great David Lynch.
- Captain America: Brave New World – $15 million (third weekend)
- Last Breath – $7.8 million (first weekend)
- The Monkey – $6.3 million (second weekend)
- Paddington in Peru – $4.5 million (third weekend)
- Dog Man – $4.2 million (fifth weekend)
- Mufasa: The Lion King – $1.9 million (11th weekend)
- Heart Eyes – $1.3 million (fourth weekend)
- The Unbreakable Boy – $1.2 million (second weekend)
- One of Them Days – $925,000 (seventh weekend)
- Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: Beginning – $916,664 (first weekend)
