Box Office: ‘Dog Man’ Stays No. 1 as ‘Heart Eyes’ and ‘Love Hurts’ Battle for Super Bowl Scraps

DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s family film Dog Man didn’t have any trouble staying atop the box office in its second weekend with an estimated $13.7 million from 3,886 theaters as new offerings Heart Eyes and Love Hurts battled it out for Super Bowl scraps.

That puts Dog Man‘s domestic total at a pleasing $54.1 million through Sunday — the pic cost a modest $40 million or so to produce — despite falling off a steep 62 percent because of Sunday’s NFL championship showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Overseas, the animated pic earned another $6.6 million from 31 territories for a foreign tally of $11.9 million and $66 million globally

Super Bowl weekend has always been a challenge for Hollywood studios since box office traffic plummets dramatically on the day of the big game. Movies targeting younger females and genre titles appealing to younger audiences are a favorite go-to in terms of movies daring to open over Super Bowl weekend, and this year is no different, although it’s more weighted on the genre side.

After nearly two decade, the record-holder for best Super Bowl opener remains 2008’s Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which opened to a resounding $31.1 million. One bright spot: Overall, weekend revenue this year is the best in the post-COVID era.

Heart Eyes, a Valentine’s Day-themed slasher rom-com from Sony’s Screen Gems and Spyglass, certainly fared better last year’s Lisa Frankenstein, which debuted to $3.6 million over Super Bowl weekend. Heart Eyes opened in second place behind Dog Man with an estimated $8.5 million from 3,102 theaters.

The film revolves around a masked killer — yes, the mask is in the shape of a heart — who travels from city to city finding a couple to kill on Feb. 14. Directed by Josh Ruben, the slasher pic stars Mason Gooding, Jordana Brewster and Olivia Holt.

Earning decent reviews, Heart Eyes didn’t fare quite as well with audiences, which gave the pic a B- CinemaScore.

Heart Eyes

Christopher Moss/Sony Pictures

Universal’s Love Hurts opened in third place with an estimated $5.8 million from 3,200 theaters. The action pic revolves around a seemingly ordinary real estate agent who is trying to outrun his violent past and stars Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once actor Ke Huy Quan opposite Daniel Wu and Ariana DeBose. The diverse cast also includes former NFL running back and Super Bowl champion Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch.

Critics have bashed the film, while audiences gave it a C+ CinemaScore. Overseas, it started off with $1.1 million from 31 markets for a global start of $6.9 million.

Produced by 87North’s Kelly McCormick and Leitch, Love Hurts is written by Matthew Murray and helmed by JoJo Eusebio in his directorial debut. David Leitch of the John Wick franchise is among the film’s producers.

Love Hurts.

Allen Fraser/Universal Pictures

At the specialty box office, Sony Pictures Classics’ new offering Becoming Led Zepplin fared nicely in its exclusive Imax launch. The documentary came in No. 7 with $2.7 million from only 372 locations to score the top per-location average of any film in the top 20.

Among specialty titles competing in the awards race, Searchlight’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown is on the verge of crossing the $70 million mark domestically after earning another $1.2 million from 1,305 theaters. Sony Classics’ I’m Still Here followed with $1.1 million from 704 cinemas for a domestic cume of $2.3 million. A24’s The Brutalist, playing in 1,115 theaters, earned just north of $914,000 for a domestic tally of $13.7 million. Overseas, it has earned $11.2 million for a global tally of $24.9 million.

Back in the top 10, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King held at No. 4 all the way in its eighth weekend, grossing $3.9 million from 2,945 locations for a domestic cume of $235.2 million and $671.1 million globally. The film — which many wrote off after a muted opening — is enjoying historic staying power and is now assured of crossing the $700 million mark at the worldwide box office.

To say there’s a glut of genre titles on the marquee is an understatement. In its second weekend, New Line and Warner Bros.’ sci-fi horror pic Companion found itself in a close race with Sony’s One of Those Days for fifth place, grossing an estimated $3 million for a 10-day domestic total of $16 million. One of those Days, now in its fourth frame, is also reporting a $3 million weekend for a domestic tally of $39.4 million. The final outcome won’t be known until Monday.

Feb. 9, 7:50 a.m. Updated with revised estimates.
Feb. 9, 8:50 a.m. Updated with foreign grosses.

This story was originally published Feb. 8 at 10 a.m.