Box Office: Renée Zellweger’s Mad About the Boy tops budget by 141 percent in just five weeks sans US theater release

Despite skipping U.S. theaters, Mad About the Boy has earned 141 percent over its USD 50M budget in five weeks, grossing USD 120M globally and maintaining strong box office momentum.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 19, 2025 | 06:01 PM IST | 1.6K

Picture Courtesy: Universal Pictures

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, starring Renée Zellweger in the titular role, keeps proving its mettle at the box office. After being denied entry into U.S. theaters and debuting directly on Peacock for streaming on Valentine's Day, the film, the fourth installment in the beloved Bridget Jones franchise, has grossed USD 120 million across 78 international markets. Made on a production budget of an estimated USD 50 million, the figure is impressive—141.4% more than its price tag.

Over its fifth weekend, March 14 to 16, the film collected a substantial USD 5.7 million, with only a 32.6% drop, suggesting strong staying power.

Based on Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel of the same name, Mad About the Boy follows our heroine’s life as a widowed mother balancing parenthood, work, and modern dating with the support of her friends, family, and former flame Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant.

As she reenters the dating pool, she finds herself attracted to a younger man while also developing feelings for her son’s science teacher. Leo Woodall, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Isla Fisher, Josette Simon, Nico Parker, Leila Farzad, Emma Thompson, and Colin Firth round out the cast. The latter, for those unversed, played Bridget’s husband, Mark Darcy, in the previous installments, which collectively grossed over USD 856.8 million worldwide.

Critics gave the latest film an enthusiastic 89% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences bestowed a 79% score.

Directed by Michael Morris and penned by Fielding in collaboration with Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan, Bridget Jones 4 is being advertised as the last installment in the series, though nothing has been confirmed yet. If more sequels do come, which we think they should, they will be purely original screenplays, likely written by Fielding, as there are no more books left to adapt.

For fans of book-to-screen adaptations, some other titles currently in the works include People We Meet on Vacation, based on Emily Henry’s novel of the same name, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, the Twisted series by Ana Huang, and multiple Colleen Hoover works, including Verity, Reminders of Him, and Regretting You. Which of these adaptations are you most excited about? Let us know!