Box Office: Bob Marley’s ‘One Love Hits $17.9M on Thursday, Overwhelming ‘Madame Web’

Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love easily maintained its lead over Sony’s troubled superhero pic Madame Web at the Thursday box office after opening the previous day at $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 and gave it an A CinemaScore.

The Bob Marley biopic earned another $3.9 million Thursday for a two-day domestic tally of $17.9 million. It is also a force overseas, including opening Wednesday to $2.3 million in the U.K., a record for a music biopic.

In North America, One Love is doing more than double the business of Madame Web, which grossed $6 million on Valentine’s Day after getting ravaged by critics and a C+ CinemaScore from audiences. It added $2.2 million Wednesday for a two-day total of $8.2 million.

Both films opened everywhere in North America on Wednesday to take advantage of sweethearts wanting to go the movies on Valentine’s Day. The titles also open in the lead-up to the long President’s Day weekend, with the official holiday falling on Monday.

The combo of the two holidays means that both films will report six-day openings. Early returns show One Love beating Madame Web with $30 million to $35 million. The weekend contest will become more clear once studios see matinee and Friday night returns.

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 Marvel’s Spider-Man universe of characters and has offered titles such as Venom and Morbius.

Madame Web is looking to post a six-day gross in the $25 million to $27 million range.

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 Marley’s belief that music could heal his nation in the post-colonial era.

The movie’s producers include Marley’s children Ziggy and Cedella, and wife, Rita. Critics are lukewarm so far; as of Thursday morning, One Love has a 44 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Paramount is confident that the $70 million film will be embraced by audiences, and hopes it can replicate the success of Elton John biopic Rocketman, also a Paramount title, and Warner Bros.’ Elvis.

If critics aren’t feeling in total harmony with One Love, they are completely taken aback by Madame Web. The first studio superhero pic of 2024 currently rests at a dismal 15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie cost a reported $80 million to produce, although sources elsewhere suggest $115 million to $120 million. The pic stars Dakota Johnson alongside Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor in the tale of a clairvoyant paramedic.

Because Madame Web is opening over a six-day stretch, it will be tough to compare it to other Marvel openings, since many of those went out over a three-day weekend.

Feb. 16, 7:30 am: Updated with Thursday grosses.

This story was originally published Feb. 15 at 9:57 a.m.