Box Office Report: Him and Big Bold Beautiful Journey Fizzle With Weak Preview Nights

Quick Saturday pulse-check: the weekend looks like a repeat of last week’s story, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle running the table while the two glossy new releases trip over the starting line.

Demon Slayer keeps the hot streak going

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is poised to dominate again. I pegged it around $25 million for the weekend, and that still feels about right. It’s too early to know how front-loaded last weekend was, but the momentum is real. The bigger headline: the movie is creeping up on $100 million total, which would be a first for an anime title. If it gets there, we’re talking historic territory.

Him fumbles out of the gate

Meanwhile, Him is not the runner-up story anyone wanted, even if it will likely land in second place. The Jordan Peele-produced, football-themed horror movie stumbled in previews. Deadline says it pulled $2 million on Thursday, which usually translates to a soft weekend. The ceiling looks around $15 million, with $20 million now a long shot. Reviews have not helped; the early consensus is pretty brutal, with a lot of 'style over substance' chatter.

Sony’s star vehicle stalls

Then there’s Sony’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, which boasts Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie but drew a faceplant-worthy $400K in previews. The notices are rough here too, and it feels very unlikely to reach the $10 million Sony forecast. Another pricey miss for the studio. And this keeps happening: solid star work, but audiences are waiting for streaming instead of showing up at the theater. For the record, I thought Caught Stealing delivered, but that didn’t change behavior either.

• Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle – set to lead the weekend again (~$25M), closing in on the $100M milestone for anime
• Him – $2M Thursday previews per Deadline; tracking toward a sub-$15M opening, unlikely to touch $20M
• A Big Bold Beautiful Journey – $400K Thursday; unlikely to reach Sony’s $10M projection despite Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie

Short version: Demon Slayer is making history while the shiny new titles eat turf. I’ll circle back tomorrow with the full weekend rundown.