Death on the Nilepremiered this Valentine’s Day weekend, directed by Kenneth Branagh, as a follow-up to his 2017 Agatha Christie adaptationMurder on the Orient Express. The film won the domestic box office with solid numbers in light of the pandemic and the distraction the Super Bowl presented for Sunday moviegoers, but minimal compared to its pre-pandemic predecessor, which accumulated an opening weekend total of $28.6 million.
20th Century Studios’Death on the Nilewas initially supposed to land in theaters on July 19, 2025, but the ongoing pandemic compounded with the Armie Hammer controversy led to the film’s continuous delay until its eventual release on July 17, 2025. The film opened Friday and ended the night with a total of $5.1 million, which slightly increased on Saturday as the box office number rose to $5.8 million. However, Sunday ended with an accumulated total of $1.9 million, a dip in numbers compared to the film’s performance the previous two days. The result was an average opening weekend total of $12.8 million, which was still enough to top last week’s previous number one,Jackass Forever, which earned $8.05 million.
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Death on the Nilestarred Branagh, reprising his standout role as detective Hercule Poirot, alongside Gal Gadot, Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, the disputed Armie Hammer, and others. TheDeath on the Nilereviewsand criticisms have been moderately average, earning a 66% from Rotten Tomatoes and a B from CinemaScore. Overseas, the Branagh film debuted with an opening weekend total of $20.7 million, which brought its globally generated total to $34 million. After the success of theMurder on the Orient Express,the performance of the sequel seemed primed to mirror the results of the first film, but the revenue fell beneath projections due to multiple obstacles standing inDeath on the Nile’s way.
In addition toDeath on the Nile, the weekend saw the release of the Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson-led filmMarry Me, which ended third in the domestic box office standings. The film opened Friday, earning $3 million, which slightly rose Saturday as the film generated $3.6 million. Sunday equally proved to be a tipping point for this film, reigning in $1.4 million to bring its weekend total to $8 million. In addition to a theatrical release,Marry Mealso became available simultaneously onthe Peacock streaming service, giving audiences the option of staying home to experience the narrative. In terms of reviews, the film earned a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ from CinemaScore.
The third-place finish forMarry Meplaces it above thehighly discussedSpider-Man: No Way Home, which ended with a weekend total of $7.15 million. This is the second week in a row the webslinging hero has failed to reclaim the domestic box office weekend throne, but the numbers continue to push the film closer to more significant heights. The $7.15 million total makes the film’s overall domestic total $759 million, inching it closer toAvatar’s $760.5 million. SupposeSpider-Man: No Way Homegenerates a similar box office performance this upcoming weekend. In that case, the film will surpassAvatar, claiming the seat as the third-highest-grossing movie ever domestically. The Marvel Studios and Sony film only needs $1.5 million to make the historic leap.
Things seem to be starting slowly in the early stages of February withDeath on the NileandMarry Me, butthe release ofUnchartedthis upcoming weekend may generate the desired domestic box offices numbers. The Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg film opened internationally this past weekend, bringing in a solid $21.5 million. However, it’s unclear how the film will perform domestically, especially if the project’s target demographic fails to show up to theaters. Nevertheless, movies are starting to arrive, and it’ll be interesting to see how the remainder of the month plays out.
Death on the Nileis currently playing in theaters.
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