2024 was a pretty good year forA24, the acclaimed production and distribution company that’s given us such hits asEverything Everywhere All At Once,Moonlight,Civil War, and Ti West’sXtrilogy. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of 2025 (yet), as things have gotten off to a rocky start for them. They’ve released just three films thus far, and their latest offering,Opus, has now set a dismal box office record.
Per Variety, this past weekend was one of the worst in recent memory, with all films earning a combined total of just $52 million dollars, including five nationwide releases. If that news wasn’t bad enough, A24’sOpuswas among them, and earned just $1 million dollars across 1,764 theaters, which put it in 12th place overall. It now has the distinction of having the 10th worst opening ever for a movie that was released in 1,500 theaters or more.
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Featuringthe directorial debutof Mark Anthony Green,Opusstars Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) as journalist Ariel Ecton, one of six guests invited to attend a listening party for 90s pop superstar Alfred Moretti (John Malkovich), who has just come out of retirement with a new album. Surrounded by his cult of sycophants, she soon discovers his twisted plans for the gathering. The premise sounds decent enough – if not a little similar to films likeMidsommarandThe Menu– but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to carry the surrealist thriller to success.
‘Opus’ Was Panned by Critics
Despite the star power of Malkovich,Opuswas largely panned by critics this past weekend, earning just a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though it had all the ingredients to provide a scathing satirical take on things like celebrity worship and the media, Katie Walsh from Tribune News Service said “the film seems like it’s trying to solve a mathematical formula for zeitgeist-grasping success, but in this empty, hollow provocation, nothing adds up.” MovieWeb"s own George Edelmanadded in his reviewthat “the flaws of the film lie in some of the leaps of faith audiences have to take to buy the extreme actions and circumstances that take place,” continuing:
“Some will not find it all that far-fetched given the aforementioned nature of celebrity. Others are likely to think it borderline absurd. There is a balance in the execution between playfulness and serious warning, and at times the film slips too far into one area to work as well in the other.”
The news isn’t all bad forOpus, of course, as folks like Oscar Goff from Boston Hassle commented that “the mood of the piece is exceptional, a sinister, slow-burn psychedelia which works its way under your skin.” That being said, the positive reviews forOpusare outliers here, as the bad far outweigh the good.
With just a $1 million take at the box office against a budget of $10 million, expect it to make its way to VOD sooner rather than later, so the studio can possibly recoup some of their losses. From there, it will head to Max, which holds the rights to exclusively stream A24 films after their theatrical release.
Source:Variety
