The Big Picture
Bob Marley: One Love
exceeded box office expectations with a $80 million global opening.
Despite mixed reviews, the film has strong audience ratings and a promising theatrical run ahead.
The movie set records at the Jamaican box office and is expanding to additional markets internationally.
Giving a much-needed boost to the struggling theatrical marketplace, Paramount’s music biopic, Bob Marley: One Love, reported strong numbers both domestically and worldwide in its opening weekend of release. Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the reggae icon and directed by King Richard’s Reinaldo Marcus Green, One Loveexceeded expectations in its domestic debut and appears to have been equally well-received internationally.
According to Paramount’s estimates, One Love is poised to generate around $51 million in its six-day domestic opening — from Valentine’s Day on Wednesday to President’s Day on Monday. The film was originally expected to gross around $15 million less in the same frame, but positive word-of-mouth is believed to have played a huge part in its stunning debut. One Love also grossed $29 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global opening of $80 million.
With this, the film has already recovered its reported $70 million budget, setting the stage for a theatrical run that’ll be interesting to observe. Recent music biopics have done exceedingly well at the box office, even if critical reception has been mixed. Paramount’s own Rocketman, based on the life of Elton John, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide after a $25 million three-day domestic debut. One Love exceeded this number. The divisive Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody delivered a three-day domestic debut of $51 million on its way to over $900 million worldwide, while Elvis opened to a little over $30 million domestically, and grossed over $280 million globally. In May, Focus Features will handle the North American release of Back to Black, the biopic of Amy Winehouse.
Marley’s Music Continues to Unite People Across the World
One Love is currently playing in 47 overseas markets, and the movie debuted at the number one spot in 13 of them. The film set the record for the biggest opening of all time in Jamaica, Marley’s home country, after having set a record for the biggest mid-week Valentine’s Day debut at the domestic box office, grossing $14 million. One Love will expand to Italy on February 22, Korea on March 14, and Japan on March 17.
What’s more remarkable is how it has been able to rally audiences despite mediocre reviews. One Love scored a “rotten” 43% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, but the film’s audience score is a way more impressive 94%. It also earned an excellent A CinemaScore from opening day crowds, while Collider’s Nate Richard praised Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch’s performances in his review. You can watch One Love in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Bob Marley: One Love
A look at the life of legendary reggae musician Bob Marley.
Release Date February 14, 2024
Get Tickets