Summary
- Bob Marley: One Love has earned $52 million over the course of its five-day domestic opening, beating the projections of $51 million.
- The film had a record-breaking Valentine’s Day opening and now sits at a worldwide total of $80 million.
- The movie earned mixed reviews from critics, but the musical biopic genre continues to be a strong draw for audiences.
Bob Marley: One Love has overperformed at the box office despite middling reviews and a low Rotten Tomatoes score. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the new biopic stars Kingsley Ben-Adir as Bob Marley, chronicling how he overcame adversity and became a reggae music icon. The film, which also stars Lashana Lynch and James Norton, debuted to mixed reviews from critics, and currently holds a lackluster 41% on Rotten Tomatoes.
A new report from THR now reveals that Bob Marley: One Love‘s reviews haven’t stopped the film from performing well at the box office. The film has actually exceeded expectations, earning $52 million domestically over the course of its five-day opening, beating the $51 million estimate. This includes a record-breaking Valentine’s Day haul of $14 million, and another $34.1 million from the four-day Presidents Day weekend. Bob Marley: One Love earned $29 million overseas, making for a worldwide haul of more than $80 million.
Bob Marley: One Love has a production budget of $70 million.
Bob Marley: One Love’s Performance & Reception Explained
Why The Musical Biopic Has Been A Hit
Bob Marley: One Love is currently performing on par with other biopics like Rocketman and Elvis, speaking to the continued strength of the genre. As has been seen with previous biopics, a well-known musician or band at the center of the film is often enough to draw audiences, with critics not always having much of an impact. 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, for example, barely sneaks by with a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score at 60%, but the film went on to earn a stunning $910.8 million worldwide.
Reviews for Bob Marley: One Love take issue with the film’s limited scope and ultimately fairly shallow exploration of Marley’s real life journey. There is also now a laundry list of clichés and well-worn tropes in the musical biopic genre, and another common complaint in the reviews is that the Marley film relies on quite a few of them. Ben-Adir, however, is frequently cited as a high point of the film, with the actor delivering a powerful performance.
While the critics’ reviews haven’t been all that positive, it’s clear that audiences feel very differently. The film’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is an impressive 93%, suggesting the film’s exploration of Marley’s life has been much more effective for general movie-goers, and this is ultimately key when it comes to box office performance. It remains to be seen whether Bob Marley: One Love‘s box office performance will continue, but the film has evidently gotten off to a strong start.
