Bong Joon Ho’s New Mickey 17 Opens to $19 Million
Director Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller Mickey 17 finally landed in the domestic box office where it opened to a sluggish $19.1 million.
The Warner Bro. Picture film was expected to bring in about $21 million in its domestic opening weekend, according to box office estimates. However, despite its shortcomings, the $19.1 million was more than enough to place the film at number one on the box office charts.
Overseas, the dystopian comedy earned $24.5 million, including a significant $11.4 million from Ho’s native country, South Korea. So far, the film has made a total of $53.3 million worldwide.
Mickey 17 follows Mickey Barnes, played by Robert Pattinson, who is hired as an Expendable. His job is to repeatedly live and die again to ensure that the ice world Niflheim is habitable for humans. However, every time Mickey dies, his body is regenerated with all of his memories.
There is pressure for Mickey 17 to sell because it is Bong Joon Ho’s first film following the success of Parasite. This thriller-comedy took home Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards, as well as the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. It made a total of $261.2 million worldwide despite its budget of $11.4 million.
#Mickey17 is an entertaining sci-fi blockbuster that takes time to develop character and character motivation at every turn. Not to mention that it looks gorgeous while doing it. Robert Pattinson is fantastic, while Naomi Ackie is almost better. Director Bong’s still got it! pic.twitter.com/YYLbIfH9yE
— paul (@paulswhtn) March 4, 2025
On the other hand, Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 cost Warner Brothers $118 million to make, adding additional pressure for the film to perform well. Sci-fi can be a tough sell, so the stakes are high.
However, Joon Ho’s rendition of the novel Mickey7 still placed number one at the domestic box office this weekend. Captain America: Brave New World came in second, and far behind, with about $8.5 million, being its fourth weekend in theaters. In third place came Last Breath with $4.2 million, fourth was The Monkey with $3.9 million, and fifth was Paddington in Peru with $3.85 million.
Mickey 17 is out in theatres now and will make its streaming debut on Max in the coming weeks.
