Jack Quaid’s action-comedy “ Novocaine ” topped a painfully slow weekend at the box office with $8.7 million. For theater owners, however, there’s not too much to celebrate: It’s one of the worst debuts to still capture the No. 1 spot (at least since the pandemic ground moviegoing to a halt).

M arch 2025 was never going to be huge at the domestic box office. While this time last year saw the movie release calendar populated with titles including Denis Villeneuve's Dune

Novocaine, the new action thriller starring Star Trek and The Boys alum, Jack Quaid, hasn't earned back its production budget at the box office yet.

“Novocaine” only cost $18 million to produce, so (like its main character) it shouldn’t be feeling any pain at the box office. On the flip side, “Mickey 17” cost $118 million to produce and needs around $275 million to $300 million worldwide to make a profit.

The studio also had early access showings the weekend prior, which are included in the total. The R-rated movie, directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, got generally positive reviews with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

When final receipts are tallied Monday, it’s likely going be the lowest-grossing weekend of the year to date with around $54 million in total ticket sales.

A mid-March weekend at the box office is supposed to be a busy one with spring break beginning and four-quadrant films on offer. But the film industry is in such a terrible slump that Paramount's R-rated action comedy "Novocaine" was able to take No.

To say theater owners are counting the days until Disney's ' Snow White' opens in theaters is is an understatement after a miserable, mind-numbing few weekends at the office.

Writethru: Thank God for Snow White next weekend, right? Who knew with that movie’s controversy we’d be saying that!? However, the industry should be thankful: If Snow White pulls off a $50 million-plus opening,