‘Wolf Man’, Keke Palmer’s ‘One of Them Days’ opens this holiday weekend

Universal and Blumhouse’s “Wolf Man” reboot and the Keke Palmer-led comedy “One of Them Days” will battle for the top spot at the box office over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Whichever lands first, neither is expected to break out in what looks to be another quiet weekend for North American theaters. “Wolf Man” is poised to open to $17 million to $21 million from 3,300 venues over the four days, while “One of Them Days” looks to collect $8 million to $13 million from 2,650 theaters between Friday and Monday.

Universal and Sony each canceled the premieres of “Wolf Man” and “One of Them Days” due to the fires and extreme winds in Los Angeles. In terms of filming, though, attendance doesn’t seem to be affected by the devastation wildfires that continued to rage through parts of Los Angelesone of the largest theater markets in the country. Los Angeles represented 8% of the domestic market share over the weekend, compared to the pre-outbreak frame of 7.8%, while AMCs in Century City, Burbank and Grove and Regal Irvine were among the top-grossing locations in the US states. However, business was down about 50% at locations closer to the fires, such as AMC Americana Glendale, AMC Universal Citywalk and AMC Santa Anita Arcadia.

Christopher Abbot stars in “Wolf Man,” director Leigh Whannell’s remake of the 1941 film about a man who is bitten by a mysterious predator and begins to transform into a dangerous creature that soon endangers the lives of his family. Ryan Gosling was originally attached to helm the film alongside director Derek Cianfrance, but they both left the project in 2023, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts. Reviews of “Wolf Man” are currently under embargo, and while horror tends to be critic-proof at the box office, 2024 was mostly disappointing for scary movies. So “Wolf Man” can’t rely on enduring love of horror to become a sleeper hit. Audiences actually have to like “Wolf Man” too.

“Wolf Man” is part of Universal’s continued attempt to mine its vast catalog of classic monsters. After the studio’s efforts to create an interconnected Dark Universe flamed out with Tom Cruise’s 2017 box office disaster “The Mummy,” Universal has opted to focus on lower-budget, director-driven standalone features — albeit with mixed results. Whannell’s “The Invisible Man,” starring Elisabeth Moss, was a $143 million worldwide success in 2020. Yet “Renfield,” starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his unhinged henchman, failed miserably with $26 million globally in 2023. A “Creature From the Black Lagoon” remake from “Aquaman” director James Wan will be the studio’s next stab at a monster revival. “Wolf Man” cost $25 million, a fraction of the $150 million plus the studio shelled out years ago for “The Mummy.”

“One of Them Days” was supposed to serve as counterprogramming to “Wolf Man.” The R-rated buddy comedy, starring Palmer and Grammy-winning musician SZA in her feature film debut, follows two roommates who race against the clock to avoid eviction after one of their boyfriends steals their rent. Issa Rae produced the film, which was directed by Lawrence Lamont and written by “Insecure” and “Rap Sh!t” alum Syreeta Singleton.

Theatrical comedies have become a dying breed; Sony’s “No Hard Feelings,” led by Jennifer Lawrence, managed to attract audiences, but others like Neon’s “Babes” with Ilana Glazer of “Broad City” fame or Amazon MGM’s “My Old Ass” and “Bottoms,” with “The Bear” starring breakout Ayo Edebiri, struggled to sell tickets despite positive reviews. So Sony kept costs down and spent $14 million to produce “One of Them Days” with co-financier Macro Film Studios.