Box Office: Mickey 17 recovers 38 percent of hefty production budget in 4 Days but faces an uphill battle to profitability

Mickey 17 recovers 38.4% of its USD 118M budget in four days but faces a tough road to profitability, relying on steady hold and improved audience reception.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 12, 2025 | 07:01 PM IST | 10.1K

Picture Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures

Despite making a below-par debut at the box office on March 7, Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 has managed to recover 38.4% of its hefty USD 118 million production budget within its first four days of release. However, with additional marketing expenses pushing the breakeven point to approximately USD 275–300 million, the science fiction black comedy still has a long way to go to make a profit.

The film, which has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Bong’s direction and Pattinson’s performance, tells the story of a financially struggling man who signs up to be expendable for an interstellar mission. As the subject of a science experiment, the character takes on multiple perilous missions on an ice planet without the fear of dying, as when one iteration of him perishes, a clone is manufactured with most of his memory still intact. Things, however, turn challenging when a previous version of him refuses to disappear, making way for the existential crisis theme of the offering.

Besides Pattinson in the lead role, the film stars Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, and Steven Yeun.

In the US, Mickey 17 collected USD 1.6 million on Monday, bringing its four-day cume to USD 20.6 million. The film saw a sharp dip from Sunday but remained the only title to cross the USD 1 million mark on the said day.

Comparisons with past sci-fi releases show the film outperformed The Creator and Ad Astra but trailed behind Tenet, Civil War, and Napoleon at the same point in their respective runs.

Internationally, Mickey 17 has raked in USD 24 million so far, with South Korea, the filmmaker’s home market, being the most dominant. Notably, Mickey 17 released in the market on February 28, a week before it took over global screens. The film has resonated well with audiences, surpassing 2 million admissions during its second three-day weekend. It also registered the biggest second weekend for Warner Bros. in South Korea post-COVID, grossing USD 3.9 million over that period. The film has recorded a gross of USD 14.4 million in the region within just 10 days.

With a global box office total of USD 45.6 million, Mickey 17 has managed to recover a portion of its budget early on. But as mentioned in the beginning, its path to breaking even remains tough and depends heavily on a turnaround in audience reception.

Have you watched the film in theaters yet? Do let us know.