Nicole Kidman’s ‘Babygirl’ Scores Incredible Win for A24

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Nicole Kidman’s film, titled “Babygirl,” has turned out to be a surprising success during the holiday season, climbing the charts of A24’s top-earning releases. Directed by Halina Reijn, “Babygirl” tells the story of Romy Mathis (Kidman), a powerful CEO who jeopardizes her career and family when she embarks on an affair with a younger intern named Samuel (Harris Dickinson). This provocative thriller certainly made an impact among holiday season movie releases. Although its seventh-place opening might have been seen as underwhelming, it has been steadily gaining more viewers over the past week.

As reported by Deadline, the movie “Babygirl” is expected to earn approximately $4.6 million during its second weekend, from January 3rd to 5th. This would bring its total box office earnings to $16.2 million, surpassing the $15.1 million gross of “MaXXXine” in 2024, making it A24’s 19th highest-grossing domestic film of all time, according to The Numbers. By the end of the weekend, “Babygirl” will be just $4 million away from recovering its production budget of $20 million. Notably, “Babygirl” has already surpassed the domestic earnings of director Halina Reijn’s previous film for A24, “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” which grossed $11.4 million in 2022.

The future position of the film “Babygirl” on A24’s box office chart is uncertain, but its 3% increase from its debut suggests positive word of mouth and audiences becoming more engaged with the movie post-holidays. If “Babygirl” recoups its $20 million budget, it will surpass the domestic earnings of “The Green Knight” ($17.1M), “The Whale” ($17.4M), and “The Farewell” ($17.7M) to become A24’s 16th highest-grossing film domestically, approaching “Priscilla’s” $20.8 million and nearing “The Disaster Artist’s” $21.1 million. The question lies in whether it can outperform A24’s 2024 hit, “We Live in Time”, which grossed $24.6 million and ranks as the 13th highest-grossing A24 film domestically.

A24’s Growing Box Office Potential

For the past ten years, A24 has built a dedicated fanbase and established itself as a go-to label for film enthusiasts, recognized for its high-quality productions. In recent times, more of its films have crossed over into mainstream popularity. The year 2024 marked the studio’s foray into blockbuster territory with the release of Civil War, which earned $64 million domestically and ranked as the studio’s second-highest-grossing film. Movies such as Everything Everywhere All At Once, Talk To Me, Herditerary, The Iron Claw, and Uncut Gems have all achieved mainstream success while garnering critical praise. Babygirl continues this trend of commercial and critical success.

Movies such as “Babygirl” demonstrate that there remains a market for mid-budget films starring prominent actors, a genre that once sustained the film industry extensively but was overshadowed by expensive blockbuster productions. Although “Babygirl’s” box office earnings of $16 million may not match those of “Mufasa: The Lion King” ($152 million), it doesn’t require such high returns to be considered a success. Putting money into more (and higher quality) films with smaller budgets might not generate the same revenue as a single blockbuster, but it also carries less risk compared to one massive failure.

It’s quite probable that “Babygirl” will keep attracting viewers during the initial weeks of January. This is because people usually go to the movies during this time to catch up on films they may have missed over the holiday season, and also to consider potential Oscar nominees. Given Nicole Kidman’s strong contention for a Best Actress nomination at the 97th Academy Awards, a nomination could generate even more interest in the film among audiences, potentially leading to increased box office revenue.

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2025-01-05 02:35