‘Love Hurts’ Bombs As Domestic Box Office Gets Super Bowled Over

The domestic box office is bracing for impact this Super Bowl weekend, with the holdover animated film Dog Man poised to retain its crown after topping the charts in its debut. Dog Man grossed $3.2 million on its second Friday, and is aiming for a $20 million sophomore weekend. The movie exceeded expectations in its debut, grossing a healthy $36 million. It will pass the $50 million mark by Sunday, while the week’s new releases struggle to compete. Overall business this weekend is expected to fall short of the $60 million mark, but this is the most robust Super Bowl frame that the domestic box office has witnessed in the post-pandemic era.

The number one spot on Friday was claimed by Heart Eyes, a romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben and featuring Olivia Holt and Mason Gooding in the central roles. Heart Eyes generated $3.7 million on its opening day, including the $1.1 million that it made in Thursday previews that began at around 2 p.m. The movie is expected to gross around $10 million across the weekend, which is in the same range as the recent horror film Companion. Heart Eyes opened to excellent reviews, and currently holds a “certified fresh” 84% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned a so-so B- CinemaScore.

The week’s other new offering, Love Hurts, didn’t fare as well. Starring the Oscar-winners Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose, the action-comedy grossed around $2.4 million on opening day; the figure also includes preview grosses. The movie is expected to generate around $6 million over the weekend, which isn’t very encouraging. Love Hurts opened to poor reviews, and is currently languishing with a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were also dissatisfied, awarding it a disappointing C+ CinemaScore.

‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Fought a Tight Race

The top five list on Friday was rounded out by the holdovers Companion and Mufasa: The Lion King. The horror film, starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, grossed a little over $1 million on its third Friday, and the big-budget Disney sequel trailed by only $50,000. Companion has so far generated $13 million domestically, and should pass the $15 million mark by Sunday. Produced on a reported budget of under $10 million, the movie opened to excellent reviews. Mufasa, on the other hand, is eyeing the $235 million mark by Sunday, after having finally overtaken its close rival Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Stay tuned to Collider for more box office coverage over the weekend.