'The Wild Robot' Grossed More On Its 115th Day at the Domestic Box Office Than 'Better Man'

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By Rahul Malhotra

Published Jan 20, 2025

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Even as A Complete Unknown continues to make waves at the box office, fellow music biopic Better Man appears to have reached the end of the line after just 10 days in wide release. Based on the life and career of the British pop-star Robbie Williams, the film has failed to find an audience not only in the United States, but also in Europe. Better Man is one of the more expensive music biopics of recent times, with a large amount of money presumably being spent on the CGI required to present Williams as a chimpanzee. The movie witnessed a tragic fall in its second weekend of domestic wide release, and was out-performed by films that have been playing in theaters for months.

Better Man grossed around $255,000 this weekend, dropping by a whopping 76% from its first weekend of wide release, when it grossed around $1 million. The film's running domestic total stands at just $1.8 million. This weekend, it was out-performed by the animated film The Wild Robot, which debuted back in September. This was its 17th weekend in domestic theaters; the movie has been available on digital streaming platforms for months. That didn't stop it from earning $97,000 on its 115th day of release, while Better Man grossed $80,000. Globally, the music biopic has generated around $12 million so far.

What makes its box office failure all the more tragic is the fact that it earned excellent reviews. The movie holds a "fresh" 88% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The film's audience score stands at a slightly better 90%. So, why did it flop? There's an argument to be made that Williams isn't as popular in the United States as he is in Europe. Plus, concealing whatever recognizability he has behind a chimpanzee probably hurt the film's chances of success. In his review, Collider's Matthew Donato described it as "a gimmick that somehow never wears thin, which is situationally miraculous."

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Better Man is directed by Michael Gracey, who previously made The Greatest Showman. Starring Hugh Jackman, that film defied a difficult production and a soft opening to ultimately gross over $450 million worldwide. Better Man was independently funded on a reported budget of $110 million, with Paramount picking up the domestic distribution rights for around $25 million. The Wild Robot, on the other hand, remains one of the best-reviewed movies of last year. It has grossed over $320 million globally, and remains a favorite to pick up an Oscar nomination this week. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.