After a triumphant return to box office success with 'Barbie' in 2023, following the disappointing performances of her 2022 period films 'Babylon' and 'Amsterdam', Margot Robbie's latest movie, 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey', has unfortunately failed to replicate the commercial or critical acclaim of her previous hit. The film, also starring Colin Farrell, has debuted to a challenging reception, attracting mediocre reviews and significantly underperforming at the box office.

'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' generated approximately $1.4 million across its Friday and preview screenings from 3,330 locations. Pre-weekend projections had anticipated a debut north of $8 million, but current figures suggest the film will be fortunate to reach even half of that, placing it outside the top five for the weekend. Sony, which acquired global rights to the movie for a reported $45 million at the 2024 European Film Market, is now facing another disappointing financial outcome, making it highly improbable that the film will recoup its investment in theaters.

Critically, the film has not fared well, holding a 'rotten' 38% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus among critics describes the movie as "Too solemn to have much fun with its high concept while also too saccharine for its wistful themes to resonate, this well-meaning odyssey never quite lives up to its title." Collider's Ross Bonaime noted that the film "occasionally works, but isn’t entirely as successful as one would hope." Audiences have also responded lukewarmly, with moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score polling a B- grade.

Directed by Kogonada, known for 'After Yang' and 'Columbus', 'A Big Bold Beautiful Journey' is his largest project to date. The film, which features Robbie and Farrell, marks Farrell's second collaboration with Kogonada. Farrell, who has recently garnered acclaim for his roles in HBO's 'The Penguin' and 'The Banshees of Inisherin', and is receiving positive buzz for the upcoming 'Ballad of the Small Player', could not draw an audience for this project. The R-rated original fantasy started as a Black List script and was meant to be a compelling prospect given its cast and auteur director, but the package failed to deliver both critically and commercially.

In the broader box office landscape, Universal’s horror film 'Him', directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, debuted in second place, securing $6.47 million on its opening day (including $2 million from preview screenings) from 3,168 locations. It is projected to achieve a $15 million opening weekend, slightly below initial projections of over $18 million. Despite a relatively modest $27 million production budget, 'Him' also faced a challenging critical and audience reception, earning a C- grade from Cinema Score, which may impact its future theatrical prospects, especially with new genre competition on the horizon.

Meanwhile, 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle', distributed by Sony's anime label Crunchyroll, continued its strong run, vying for the top spot. Despite an expected significant drop from its opening weekend, the epic R-rated anime collected $4.56 million on Friday and is projected for a $16.3 million sophomore outing. This performance is set to push its domestic total past $100 million, making it the 15th film of 2025 to reach this milestone and solidifying its position as the highest-grossing anime movie ever released in North America, surpassing 'Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back'. Other films in the top ranks included Warner Bros.' 'The Conjuring: Last Rites' in third place, Lionsgate’s 'The Long Walk' eyeing fourth, and Focus Features’ 'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' projected for fifth. Angel Studios' football feature 'The Senior' also opened this weekend, debuting in seventh place with $1.25 million across Friday and previews, earning a glowing A grade from Cinema Score.