Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love easily has been exceeding expectations since it opened Valentine’s Day, and there’s no telling where it might come in by the end of the long Presidents’ Day weekend, thanks to a glowing A CinemaScore.
Early estimates show the Paramount film posting a six-day domestic opening of $46.2 million, including $28.3 million for the three-day weekend, a huge sum that rivals the starts of such musical biopics as Rocketman.
Sony’s Madame Web is looking at a six-day opening of $24 million, one of the lowest openings ever for a film mentioning a Marvel character, although the Dakota Johnson-starring film is not considered part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One Love, which benefits from an ethnically diverse audience, opened opposite Madame Web on Wednesday to take advantage of Valentine’s Day before the four-day Presidents’ Day holiday. The Bob Marley pic earned a record $14 million from 3,536 theaters, the top midweek opener ever for Valentine’s Day, the studio says. The honor previously belonged to 2012’s The Vow ($11.5 million). Better yet — and despite “meh” reviews — audiences seem to dig One Love. The Bob Marley biopic earned another $3.9 million Thursday for a two-day domestic tally of $17.9 million.
One Love director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s depiction of the iconic Jamaican musician and Rastafarian stars Kingsley Ben-Adir. It chronicles Marley making his 1977 album Exodus and the events of the next several years, including an assassination attempt and his belief that music could heal his nation in the post-colonial era. The movie’s producers include Marley’s children Ziggy and Cedella, and his wife, Rita. Critics are lukewarm so far.
In past years, a superhero pic would generally be the safe bet to win, but times have changed as both DC and Marvel Studios regroup after a number of box office setbacks. Madame Web is from Sony, which has the rights to some of Marvel’s Spider-Man universe of characters and has offered titles such as Venom and Morbius.
Numbers will be updated Sunday morning.
