Box Office Predictions: One Battle After Another will be PT Anderson’s biggest opening…but will it beat Gabby’s Dollhouse

Here’s a chilling thought: One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s $150 million, 70mm big-screen epic, and arguably the year’s best-reviewed movie (including by us), might be beaten at the box office this weekend by… Gabby’s Dollhouse. Now, if you’re a regular JoBlo reader, I bet you’re asking yourself this question: WTF is Gabby’s Dollhouse? Given that it’s a spinoff of a Netflix series for preschoolers (from the creators of Blue’s Clues), unless you happen to have very young kids, it likely hasn’t popped up on your radar. But there’s a big audience (apparently) among 2–7-year-olds, and no doubt many very young children will be begging their parents to take them to see this over the weekend. Older adults might be slightly won over by the fact that it co-stars Kristen Wiig, who inexplicably is making this her first live-action film role since the cult classic Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar.

Hopefully, sanity will prevail and the audience that made other big Warner Bros gambles like Sinners, F1, and Weapons pay off will show up for Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest, which features one of the last truly bankable movie stars in its lead, Leonardo DiCaprio. Yet, given the times we live in, audiences seeking escapism may feel this one hits too close to home. The silver lining, though, is that even if the movie fails financially, in terms of prestige it will win, as it’s a surefire Oscar contender. It’s also so good that the kids who are seeing Gabby’s Dollhouse this weekend, when they grow up, will probably consider One Battle After Another a classic.

I’m going to be optimistic and predict One Battle After Another will slightly overperform thanks to the reviews and word of mouth, with a $25 million opening. I think Gabby’s Dollhouse will only make about $17 million (although, God forbid, I might be wrong). Third place will undoubtedly be a toss-up between The Strangers: Chapter 2 and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. I think The Strangers will make about $9 million, while Demon Slayer, which has been losing a lot of its audience week-to-week, will make $7 million. The Conjuring: Last Rites should round out the top 5 with about $6 million.

Here are my predictions for this weekend’s box office:

One Battle After Another – $25 million

Gabby’s Dollhouse – $17 million

The Strangers: Chapter 2 – $9 million

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle – $7 million

The Conjuring: Last Rites – $6 million

So, what are you gambling on—Gabby’s Dollhouse or One Battle After Another? Let us know in the comments!

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