“Chainsaw Man: The Movie” is expected to be released ahead of new releases such as Bruce Springsteen biopic “Delivery Me From Nowhere” and Colleen Hoover’s “Regret You,” which has once again pushed anime to the top of the domestic box office.
The R-rated “Chainsaw Man” grossed $8.5 million on Friday and in screenings at 3,003 locations. The production will serve as a big-screen sequel to the first season of the comic book version, with an opening prize of $15.5 million. Available in both subtitled and dubbed versions, it benefits from playback in Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums with higher ticket prices.
It was another win for Sony’s anime label Crunchyroll. In September, the company had the biggest opening of the year for its parent studio, making a historic start with “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugenjou” earning $70.6 million. Chainsaw Man is just one of those blockbusters, but the fact that the new animated release is once again at the top of the charts, outpacing the two English-language releases from traditional Hollywood studios, speaks to the shift in theatrical thinking in recent years.
Reviews for Chainsaw Man have been positive, but more importantly, it’s loved by audiences, as evidenced by its “A” rating from movie fan research company CinemaScore. Anime is almost always at the front of the line at the box office, with most fans flocking to the opening weekend screenings. While the bulk of its North American box office success is likely to come this weekend, Chainsaw Man already has a respectable position for producer Mappa with $61 million in overseas box office receipts.
The battle for second place is extremely fierce, with “Regretting You” narrowly leading the second album, “Black Phone 2.”
Paramount’s “Regretting You” opened with $5.2 million in previews that included screenings Friday and a special fan event featuring a live Q&A with the cast. The cross-generational drama, directed by Josh Boone and produced by Constantine Films, is currently on track to open with $13 million.
This comes ahead of Tracking, who had expected the debut to make between $8 million and $10 million. It did not have the same box office success as Colleen Hoover’s first feature-length film, “Love Ends,” which was released in August 2024. The Blake Lively-starring film grossed $24 million on its first day at the box office and grossed $50 million in its debut on a modest production budget of $25 million. “Regretting You” cost $30 million to make.
Reviews for “Regretting You” were also relatively rough, with a moderate “B” grade on CinemaScore. The group drama is rated PG-13 (equivalent to the “A-” earned by “It Ends With Us”), stars Mckenna Grace, Mason Thames, Allison Williams, Dave Franco, and more, and is the first of an ongoing wave of Hoover adaptations. “Verity” and “Reminder of Him” remain releases from other studios.
Despite finishing in fourth place on Friday, “Delivery Me From Nowhere,” starring “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White as The Boss, grossed $3.5 million from 3,460 locations on its first day, including preview screenings. Pre-weekend predictions were for the debut film to be in the $8 million to $12 million range, but it will have to put up some fight to reach eight figures. The PG-13 rated biopic also shares Imax and other PLFs with “Chainsaw Man.”
20th Century Studios’ “Springsteen” has been compared to last year’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Completely Unknown.” This is also a historical musical drama produced by Disney’s label Searchlight Pictures. That Timothée Chalamet vehicle debuted to a slightly higher $11.6 million in three days, then rode Oscar buzz through the holiday season and first few weeks of January to $75 million domestically and $140 million worldwide.
Scott Cooper’s Deliver Me From Nowhere is eyeing a similar award after having film festival premieres at New York’s Telluride and AFI Fest with Springsteen himself in attendance. However, reviews have been lukewarm compared to “A Complete Unknown,” and the film doesn’t benefit from showing during the holiday season. Audiences loved the film, giving it a “B+” grade on CinemaScore. But Delivering Me From Nowhere, which cost a hefty $55 million to make, will have to fight for moviegoers’ attention over the next few weeks.
While there’s still a chance for second place, Universal’s Black Phone 2 release added $3.7 million on Friday and is on track to hit $12 million in its second weekend, down 56% from its opening price. The horror sequel is expected to gross $48 million at the domestic box office through Sunday, slightly outpacing its 2022 predecessor ($47 million in 10 days). The film is already Blumhouse’s highest-grossing North American release of the year, a reaction to the release of a number of previously unreleased films in early 2025, but Black Phone 2 is also Blumhouse’s most expensive film to make, at a cost of $30 million.
Disney’s “Tron: Ares” earned another $1.3 million on Friday, down 48% from its single-day total a week ago, and is close to rounding out the top five. Now in its third weekend of release, the sci-fi revival has seen a rapid decline in box office receipts in theaters, grossing just $59 million in North America. That’s a disaster for an IP drama that cost $180 million to make.
Also this weekend, neon horror mystery Shelby Oaks opens in 1,823 locations. The original R-rated film has received decent reviews, but it seems on track to sink into seventh place after earning about $1.1 million on Friday and in previews.
