That audience score indicates that people like this movie enough to encourage others to go and see it. That’s why after it expanded wide in its fourth weekend and earned $12.8 million, it was able to leg it out and hold very well in the coming weeks. The movie is set to arrive on Digital early next week, with the Blu-ray arriving in mid-March, meaning that its domestic theatrical run is probably going to run out of gas. Be that as it may, it’s not done yet and could/should finish with around $120 million (give or take).
Just about the only thing working against it right now is its $50 million production budget. That’s a bit high for something like this and will undoubtedly prevent it from actually getting into profits through box office alone. That said, good word of mouth should make this a big hit on VOD as well — not to mention, Sony will collect some cash from Netflix for the streaming rights later this year. So it very well should, in the end, be a profitable venture, even if it’s not a gigantic moneymaker.
More importantly, this proves that adult-focused movies can absolutely still be a viable concern theatrically. These movies don’t have to be relegated to streaming or, worse, not made at all. Similarly, “The Lost City” ($190 million worldwide) and “Ticket to Paradise” ($168.5 million worldwide) proved that rom-coms aren’t dead either. Even more encouraging is the fact that something like this doesn’t necessarily have to cost $50 million to make in most cases. As the global box office continues to trend upward in 2023, studios should take note of “A Man Called Otto” and know that, with the right pieces in place, these films can still draw a crowd.