Moviegoers were in for a treat this Valentine’s Day as Paramount’s biopic, “Bob Marley: One Love,” made a splash at the box office with an estimated $12 million opening. This impressive figure sets a new record for a movie playing on Valentine’s Day midweek, surpassing the previous record held by the 2012 romance film, “The Vow,” starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, which made $11.6 million.
In comparison, Sony/Marvel’s “Madame Web” trailed behind with $5 million to $5.5 million on the same day. However, projecting the movie’s performance over the next six days is uncertain at this point. Some speculate that “Bob Marley: One Love” may be frontloaded, meaning it had a strong opening but might experience a decline in the following days. Nevertheless, studios are optimistic, sticking to their forecasts of $30 million or more for “Bob Marley: One Love” and $20 million or more for “Madame Web” over the course of six days.
Critics have weighed in on “Bob Marley: One Love,” giving it a 41% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, there is a belief that audience scores will be higher for this biopic, directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir. In fact, the audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes currently stand at a perfect 100%. On the other hand, “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, has received abysmal reviews with a rating of 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience score for this film is also low, currently sitting at 58%.
It’s worth noting that the highest-grossing movie on Valentine’s Day is 20th Century Fox/Marvel’s “Deadpool,” which raked in an impressive $42.6 million. Opening strong on Valentine’s Day is not a common occurrence, and both “Bob Marley: One Love” and “Madame Web” did not have previews. Other midweek Valentine’s Day opening titles in the past include “Alita: Battle Angel” in 2019, which made $8.7 million on Thursday, “A Good Day to Die Hard” in 2013 with $8.2 million on Thursday, and the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ novel “Safe Haven,” which earned $8.8 million on Thursday.
Overall, it seems that moviegoers were drawn to the story of iconic music artist Bob Marley, as evidenced by the strong opening of “Bob Marley: One Love.” Despite mixed reviews from critics, the audience’s enthusiasm for the biopic is apparent through their high ratings. On the other hand, “Madame Web” struggled to impress both critics and audiences alike. As the week progresses, it will be interesting to see if these films can maintain their momentum and meet the studios’ optimistic forecasts.