'Novocaine' Tops Box Office with $8.5 Million Weekend in Sluggish Market

The action-comedy leads a historically slow March weekend for theaters, with no films projected to surpass $10 million in earnings.

'Novocaine,' starring Jack Quaid, earned $3.9 million on its opening day and is expected to close the weekend with $8.5 million in ticket sales.
The film, produced on an $18 million budget, received mixed audience reception with a CinemaScore of 'B' but has garnered generally positive critical reviews.
The overall weekend box office is set to hit just $52 million, marking the lowest March total since 1997, excluding the pandemic years.
Steven Soderbergh's 'Black Bag,' featuring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, debuted in third place with an estimated $7 million but faces challenges due to its $50 million production budget.
Warner Bros.' 'Mickey 17' dropped 60% in its second weekend, earning $7.6 million and struggling to recoup its $118 million production costs.