The 2025 box office gets injected with some new life as Wolf Man and One of Them Days hit theaters, and both are prepared to battle Den of Thieves 2: Pantera for the top spot. Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s action heist movie surprised last weekend with its ability to beat incumbent top grossers in Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The result was Den of Thieves 2 winning the weekend box office. That put the film in a good spot to find continued success in the weeks to come, but Wolf Man and One of Them Days hope to overtake it.

Wolf Man is director Leigh Whannell’s latest modern reimagining of a classic Universal Monster four years after doing The Invisible Man. Meanwhile, Keke Palmer headlines a studio comedy in an attempt to get viewers to watch One of Them Days in theaters. The two new challengers for the top spot at the domestic box office will have to overcome each other and the remaining January 2025 movies in theaters to do so. The horror remake and comedy now square off with an action franchise sequel and other well-performing тιтles this weekend.

Wolf Man Is Projected To Win The Box Office In Its Opening Weekend

The Monster Movie Aims For $17M+ This Weekend

Universal and Blumhouse are expected to have the new top earner at the box office this weekend thanks to Wolf Man. The reboot of the werewolf franchise gets a wide release with its R-rating. And while critics are mixed on Leigh Whannell’s film, the hope is that horror audiences and the Blumhouse faithful will turn out well enough to make the film a success. Per Variety, the film is projected to make between $17M-$21M this weekend, which would be good enough to be the new #1 film in America.

Wolf Man‘s opening weekend would be a tad bit below what Universal and Blumhouse were hoping for after 2020’s The Invisible Man. Whannell’s previous Universal Monster movie had a $28 million opening weekend after only being made for $7 million. Wolf Man boasts a bigger budget, reportedly over three times the size at $25 million. That leaves the film in a good position to still turn a profit based on these opening weekend projections. If audiences decide to watch Wolf Man in theaters more than expected, it could even make its budget back in a single weekend.

This opening would also be lower than Universal’s last attempt to make a Wolf Man franchise. 2010’s The Wolfman made $31 million in its opening weekend and finished second over the Valentine’s Day holiday release. Wolf Man might not match that opening, barring a complete surprise performance, but it should follow in The Invisible Man‘s footsteps to be the #1 movie of the weekend. Even though horror movies tend to do well, Blumhouse’s latest doing so without any A-list stars in Wolf Man‘s cast is significant and bodes well for the future.

One Of Them Days Opening Weekend Box Office Projections

Keke Palmer’s Comedy Projects For Over $8 Million

A few years after her excellent performance in Jordan Peele’s Nope, Keke Palmer is back in a lead role with Sony’s comedy One of Them Days. Paired up with Grammy-winning singer SZA for an Issa Rae-produced comedy, Palmer’s new film is hoping to have a solid opening weekend at the box office. Variety reports the film is targeting an $8M-$13M opening weekend, which would be a good range for a movie that only costs $14 million.

This opening weekend would be well below what Palmer experienced with Nope‘s $44M opening, but One of Them Days is a very different release. Comedies are not the big box office performers they used to be before the mid-2010s. Since then, it’s been much harder for true comedies to break through. Sony knows this all too well, with Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings only having a $15 million opening weekend for the studio in 2023. One of Them Days performing slightly below that figure would be impressive since Keke Palmer is not quite the star Jennifer Lawrence is.

One of Them Days‘ opening weekend box office range would be good enough to best several other recent comedies too. Joy Ride ($5.8M), Strays ($8.2M), Thelma ($2.3M), and Y2K ($2.1M) all did worse over the last two years. If One of Them Days can finish somewhere between Strays and No Hard Feelings, that will be a win for Sony and Keke Palmer.

Den Of Thieves 2 Aims For A Low Second Weekend Box Office Drop

The Sequel Hopes To Match The Original Once More

After opening in the top spot at the box office, Den of Thieves 2 is unlikely to hold onto that spot in the January 17-19, 2025 frame. Audiences have mostly liked the action sequel, as its earned a B+ on CinemaScore and sits at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter. That was reflected by the film’s $15 million opening weekend, which was above the most recent projections. So far, the film is still trailing the original 2018 film, though, as it heads into its second weekend.

Den of Thieves had a relatively low drop in its second weekend seven years ago, dipping only 43.2% and making $8.6 million after its $15.2 million opening. With Den of Thieves 2 opening just behind the original film at $15 million, a similar drop this weekend would make it earn $8.5 million. It’s worth noting that the sequel had a worse performance on its first Monday than the original ($1M vs $1.3M), so there is a chance that there is a harsher drop. It’s still the biggest new action movie in theaters, though, so Butler’s star power could help overcome that potentially.

Predicted Top 10 Box Office For January 17-19, 2025

Wolf Man Should Be The #1 Movie This Weekend

This weekend’s box office should result in Wolf Man winning the three-day period, as well as the extended Martin Luther King Jr. Day 4-day weekend. The mixed reviews should not hurt the monster horror film too badly, leaving me comfortable to predict a $18.2 million opening weekend for Wolf Man. That would be on the lower end of the current projections but still enough for the movie to be the #1 movie in America by January 20th. One of Them Days, meanwhile, should contend for second place with a predicted nearly $10 million opening.

As for the rest of the box office, Den of Thieves 2 is predicted to do well and finish in third place with a slightly larger drop than its predecessor in their respective second weekends. Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 round out the predicted top 5, even if they are both starting to slow down. The rest of the predicted top 10 movies at the box office for January 17-19 are Nosferatu, Moana 2, A Complete Unknown, Wicked, and Babygirl – which were all in the top 10 last weekend.

If any other movies are bound to break into the top 10, The Brutalist and The Last Showgirl are two possibilities. Both films had solid outings last weekend on a limited number of screens. Julia Stiles’ newly directed rom-com Wish You Were Here could also sneak in, although it’s not getting a wide release from Lionsgate, so it will need to do well in limited theaters to do so. Barring any other unexpected developments, this should be the top 10 at the box office this weekend, even if some of the standings shift around.

Source: Variety, Box Office Mojo