Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s action comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is losing a big battle at the box office, according to a new industry trade report.
In One Battle After Another, DiCaprio plays Bob, a washed-up revolutionary who goes off the grid after his militant group, the French 75, botches a bank robbery. While Bob escapes, his lover and fellow revolutionary, Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) — who shot and killed a security guard during the heist — is arrested by Col. Stephen Lockjaw (Sean Penn).
When Lockjaw shows up 16 years later and apprehends Bob’s daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), Bob, whose brain is addled from years of being stoned, is forced to come out of hiding to find her.
Written and directed by Anderson, One Battle After Another opened in theaters on Sept. 26 and earned $22 million from 3,624 North American theaters in its first Friday to Sunday frame for a No. 1 finish. Since then, the box office receipts for the critically acclaimed film have been dwindling. That’s bad news for its studio, Warner Bros., since the film had a massive production budget before its global marketing spend.
A new report by Variety on Wednesday spelled out the financial troubles for One Battle After Another, which, as of the publication of this article, has earned $56.6 million domestically and $85.2 million internationally for a worldwide box office tally of $141.8 million.
“Though the global haul of $140 million is impressive for a film that’s original, R-rated and nearly three hours long, One Battle requires roughly $300 million to break even,” the Variety report noted. “That’s because Warner Bros. spent more than $130 million on production and $70 million on promotional efforts, and ticket sales are typically split 50-50 between studios and theater operators.”
In addition, Variety noted that DiCaprio “typically gets first-dollar gross on his movies, meaning he gets a percentage of box office revenues before the studio recoups any costs.”
Taking the film’s theatrical haul and expenses into account, the trade publication noted, “One Battle After Another, which is mounting a multimillion-dollar Oscar campaign, is tracking to lose $100 million, according to studio executives with knowledge of the economics of similar-sized films.”
Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another.”
Warner Bros. Pictures
Industry Reports Vary Regarding The Production Cost Of ‘One Battle After Another’
While Variety reported the film had a $130 million production budget, the box office tracker The Numbers pegged the production tally at $140 million and Deadline reported the film cost somewhere between $130 million and $140 million to produce.
Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter reported that One Battle After Another’s net production budget of anywhere between $135 million to $170 million.
The trade publication indicated a studio spokesman disputed the breakdown of the numbers, saying, “Warner Bros. refutes Variety’s anonymous sources and their uninformed estimates. Films across the studio’s slate, including One Battle After Another, have achieved financial reward in 2025 with more than $4 billion earned to date.”
Variety pointed out, however, that the “$4 billion earned” was for the amount Warner Bros.’ 2025 films — including A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, Superman, Weapons and The Conjuring: Last Rites — grossed in global ticket sales, not netted.
One Battle After Another is still playing in theaters.
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