With a budget of $18 million and a rather discreet promotion, Novocaine was not expected to dominate the U.S. box office. Despite receiving good reviews and benefiting from the rising fame of its main actor, its success is largely due to an unusually quiet release calendar, allowing it to achieve an opening box office of $8 million.
This is particularly concerning given that the second weekend of March marks the worst box office weekend of 2025. Overall film revenues reached only $54.7 million, lower than the Super Bowl weekend, traditionally known for low cinema attendance as viewers stay home to watch the game.
Furthermore, the year 2025 has been characterized by a series of disappointments, with Captain America: Brave New World failing to meet expectations and Mickey 17 experiencing a 60% drop in attendance. As operators demand more films, only five new titles were released that weekend, highlighting ongoing struggles in the industry.
