Jack Quaid’s action-comedy “ Novocaine ” topped a painfully slow weekend at the box office with $8.7 million. For theater owners, however, there’s not too much to celebrate: It’s one of the worst debuts to still capture the No. 1 spot (at least since the pandemic ground moviegoing to a halt).

"Novocaine" is off to a good start at the box office with an estimated $8.5 million opening weekend, but the marketplace is in a terrible slump.

Wait, wasn’t the impact from the strikes last year? If 2025 is going to be known for anything, it’s which weekend is the lowest at the box office. With Paramount’s new wide entry Novocaine and Warner Bros’ Mickey 17 doing about $8M each (many believe the Jack Quaid movie has the edge),