'Whalefall' Opens to Just $17.5 Million Worldwide on a $60 Million Budget
20th Century Studios' survival thriller 'Whalefall' took in about $17.5 million worldwide in its opening weekend, about $8 million of it domestic — a rough start for a film that cost a reported $60 million to produce.
"Whalefall" opened to about $17.5 million worldwide this weekend, according to Sunday estimates from TheWrap. About $8 million of that came from North America, where it played in 3,065 theaters. The film cost a reported $60 million to produce.
Tracking had pointed to as much as $13 million domestic, and the studio had projected $10 million to $12 million. The film managed roughly $2.6 million to $3 million on Friday, including previews, and settled in fourth place for the weekend. Deadline described the debut as a belly flop.
Brian Duffield directed the film, an adaptation of Daniel Kraus's 2023 novel, and shares screenplay credit with the author. Austin Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, a young diver who goes looking for his late father's remains off the California coast and ends up swallowed by a sperm whale. Trapped with a dwindling oxygen supply, he tries to escape. Josh Brolin plays his father, Mitt. Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer is among the producers. Duffield previously directed "No One Will Save You" and "Underwater" and co-produced "Cocaine Bear."
Reviews were decent. The film holds 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and 81 percent from audiences, and it earned a B CinemaScore. That is not an outright rejection, but it is not the kind of word of mouth that rescues a soft opening.
The comparison stings. A24's "You Can See Everything," a three-hour documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, took about $15 million from 855 theaters — the No. 2 spot and the biggest documentary opening in at least 13 years. A documentary in a quarter as many theaters out-earned a studio thriller. Paramount's "Street Fighter" led the weekend with a $51 million global opening.
"Whalefall" joins Warner Bros.' "Digger" and Sony's "The Social Reckoning" among this month's box-office misfires. TheWrap notes that Disney, which owns 20th Century Studios, will be able to absorb any losses — "Avengers: Doomsday" arrives in December.
