Novocaine will top the box office chart this weekend with a modest $8.7 million, the lowest total for a number one movie since Argylle’s remarkable second-weekend win with just $6.25 million in February last year. Things at the box office aren’t quite as bad as they were then, but this will be the third straight weekend where the combined gross for all movies playing in theaters barely creeps over $50 million.

Action movie starring Brad Pitt and Damson Idris opens in theaters June 27. Full movie details. Sonny Hayes, a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s, has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire from Formula One and start racing in other disciplines. A Formula One team owner and friend, Ruben, contacts Hayes and asks him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua “Noah” Pearce for the Apex Grand Prix team.

Novocaine goes into the weekend favorite to come out on top at the box office, according to our prediction model, but it has an unusual amount of competition, with Mickey 17 coming out of a chart-topping performance last weekend, and Black Bag also likely to have some cross-over appeal. Novocaine’s “Thursday” preview number ($1.75 million) is encouraging, but we don’t know how much came from previews last weekend, and it will be relying on solid momentum through the weekend and a lot of people choosing it over the other two films.

Last weekend’s box office was mostly as expected, with Mickey 17 debuting in the number one spot, earning a smidgen over $19 million in its three-day start. The film has since accrued another $5.5 million and currently enjoys a six-day total of $24.57 million. This week’s race is anyone’s game, as five new wide releases make their way into theaters, including Black Bag and Novocaine, both of which will give everything they have to claim that top spot.

North American ticket prices rose in line with inflation in 2024, hitting a new high of $11.31 for the year, up 3% from 2023’s average of $10.94. That follows gains of 4% in 2023 and 2022. The average price in Q4—typically the most expensive time of year to go see movies—hit a record high of $11.64. New data from our partners, along with SEC filings from the major theater chains, have also allowed us to revise and tighten our estimates for ticket prices since the beginning of 2022.