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In one of the quietest weekends (it's January after all), Flight Risk seized the opportunity to top the box office. The weekend's other new release was Neon's Presence, which had a soft start in less than 2,000 theaters. But the real loser was Angel Studios' Brave the Dark, which flopped with one of the worst debuts in 2,000 theaters.

The Top 10 earned a combined $54.2 million this weekend. That's up 30.1% from last year, when Mean Girls repeated on the top spot for a third week.

Debuting in 3,161 theaters, Lionsgate's Flight Risk earned $11.5 million this weekend. That's star Mark Wahlberg's biggest debut since Uncharted ($44 million), and his biggest for a non-IP since Instant Family ($18 million). Although for director Mel Gibson, this is his lowest debut as director since Man Without a Face ($4 million) back in 1993.

This is an okay, not great start. The production kept the budget low at $25 million and it clearly shows, given the film is mostly set in a plane with only three characters. And perhaps that's why the film didn't make a huge landing here; it simply lacks an interesting hook. The plot gave streaming vibes and the film's tone (the tagline is "Y'all need a pilot?") suggested it this was going to be a non-event. It's simply a film that people saw a few times already.

There's also a problem regarding star power. Wahlberg is clearly well known, but his name has taken a dive in the past years. Most of his films in the past years have flopped, with Uncharted becoming the rare box office hit (and that's because of the IP). Michelle Dockery (who also starred in another plane thriller, Non-Stop, back in 2014) and Topher Grace aren't big names that draw people to theaters either. And Lionsgate decided to avoid showcasing Gibson's involvement from marketing, choosing to use "from the director of Braveheart, Apocalypto and Hacksaw Ridge" as its selling point. While Gibson is often considered a great filmmaker, this was a miss: it's sitting at an awful 25% on RT.

According to Lionsgate, 54% of the audience was male and 55% was 25 and over. Critics hated the film and audiences agreed; they gave it an awful "C" on CinemaScore, which is simply terrible for an action thriller. With other thriller/action films like Companion and Love Hurts coming up, this film is heading for a freefall. For now, a $25 million domestic total is likely, which will make it Gibson's least attended film as director.

Mufasa dipped 29%, adding $8.5 million this weekend. That takes its domestic total to $220.9 million, and it should get close to $250 million by the end of its run.

Sony's One of Them Days eased just 32%, adding $8 million this weekend. That's a very great hold for a comedy, indicating word of mouth is strong with this one. Through ten days, the film has earned $25.1 million domestically, and it should finish with over $40 million.

In fourth place, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 eased 38%, adding $5.3 million. That takes its domestic total to $225.9 million.

Moana 2 eased just 30%, adding $4.1 million this weekend. The film has amassed $449.9 million so far.

In sixth place, Neon's Presence debuted with $3.3 million in 1,750 theaters. That's Steven Soderbergh's worst debut in wide release, below Unsane ($3.7 million). But this result is not surprising. At least it was above Neon's recent horror Cuckoo ($3 million).

Soderbergh has pivoted from theatrical releases, with Magic Mike's Last Dance making his first theatrical film since 2018. In those years, he has gone on to release films for Netflix and Max instead. Neon chose to save costs and avoid releasing it too wide, feeling that Soderbergh's brand could carry it. But it looks like in a sea of horror/thrillers like Nosferatu, Wolf Man and Companion, this one simply got lost in the shuffle.

According to Neon, 56% of the audience was male and 73% was 25 and over. They gave it a "C+" on CinemaScore, which isn't surprising, considering the marketing sells a different film. It's unlikely Presence can leg it out to $10 million lifetime.

After its weak debut, Blumhouse's Wolf Man dropped to seventh place, earning $3.2 million. That's a very awful 70% drop from last weekend, far worse than The Invisible Woman (46.3%) and it's also slightly worse than 2010's The Wolfman (68.6%). Well, considering the film's tepid response and poor word of mouth, that's not really surprising. Through ten days, the film has earned just $17.6 million, and it will close with just $22 million at most.

Searchlight's A Complete Unknown, coming off its 8 Oscar nominations, had the best drop in the Top 10. It eased a light 18%, adding $3 million this weekend. With that, the film's domestic total now stands at $62.9 million.

In ninth place, Den of Thieves: Pantera fell a further 55% this weekend, adding $2.9 million. The film has earned $31.8 million, and will now officially close below $40 million domestically.

Rounding up the Top 10 was A24's The Brutalist, coming off its 10 Oscar nominations. It finally hit wide release in 1,118 theaters, and the film earned $2.8 million this weekend. That's a fine start, especially considering its 215-minute runtime limited the amount of screenings. With this, the film's domestic lifetime stands at $9.3 million, and it's gonna continue legging out.

After 10 weekends, Wicked has finally left the Top 10. But it still eased 34%, adding $2.3 million this weekend and taking its domestic total to $468.7 million.

It's not until the 12th spot where we find Angel Studios' Brave the Dark, which flopped with $2.2 million in 2,230 theaters. That's one of the worst debuts for any film at over 2,000 theaters, and marks another loss for Angel Studios, which has been failling to find a success after Sound of Freedom.

Nosferatu fell 52%, adding $1.9 million this weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $93.1 million, and it looks like it might take some time in reaching $100 million.

September 5 expanded to 395 theaters this weekend, earning just $745,064. The film has earned only $1.6 million, and with the lack of awards prospects, it's going to disappear quickly.

After a very confusing platform release, Amazon MGM finally expanded Nickel Boys into 540 theaters, just as it received 2 Oscar noms. But the film earned just $348,060, which is very low. That took its domestic total to $1.5 million, and it needs some strong word of mouth to leg out.

IFC Films released Neil Burger's new action thriller Inheritance in 627 theaters, and it flopped with an abysmal $124,817. That's the 13th worst debut for a film playing in over 600 theaters, and it also translates to a putrid $199 per-theater average. It will fade quickly.

OVERSEAS

Mufasa once again led the foreign box office. It added $15.4 million, taking its worldwide total to $627 million. The best markets are France ($38.1M), UK ($34.7M), Mexico ($28.3M), Germany ($27.8M) and Italy ($23.1M).

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 added $10.6 million this weekend, taking its worldwide total to $446.3 million. The best markets are the UK ($28.9M), Mexico ($21.1M), France ($18.4M), Australia ($17.1M) and Brazil ($12.3M).

Ahead of its American debut in February, Paddington in Peru added $6.3 million this weekend, taking its overseas total to $83 million.

Moana 2 added $5.8 million, taking its worldwide total to $1.026 billion. The best markets are France ($61.8M), UK ($51.2M), Germany ($44M), Australia ($31.8M) and Japan ($31.6M).

Nosferatu added $4.2 million, and its worldwide total is now $166.5 million. The best markets are the UK ($14.7M), Mexico ($7.8M), Germany ($5.3M), Spain ($5.1M) and Italy ($5.1M).

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

• The hierarchy of power in the Christmas Cinematic Universe didn't change at all. For Red One, it closed with just $185 million, far below it's $250 million budget. Even if it was supposed to be on streaming, it's still underwhelming that the film couldn't hit $200 million worldwide or $100 million domestically. Is The Rock a draw? Certainly. Does that warrant a high budget? Look up here and Black Adam.

• Well, this shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Paramount simply gave up with Better Man after just 2 weeks in wide release; it will continue playing in who knows how many theaters, but they decided to stop reporting box office numbers. And so the film couldn't hit $2 million domestically. There are a few foreign markets left, but it has zero chance of making a comeback. Very disappointing.

THIS WEEKEND

DreamWorks is returning to the big screen with Dog Man, which is based on Dav Pilkey's children's graphic novel series, and is also a spin-off and story within a story of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. As the first family animated film (get out of the way, Mufasa) since Moana 2, this has so much on its favor and should easily top the box office.

Another release is WB's Companion, which follows a a weekend getaway among friends at a remote cabin, which unravels into chaos after a revelation that one of the guests is a companion robot. The marketing has been very resistant in showing more of the plot, choosing instead to emphasize its connection to Barbarian (Zach Cregger is a producer here). With some great reviews so far (94% on RT), perhaps it could surprise.

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