The acclaimed big-budget film One Battle After Another starring Leonardo DiCaprio is now poised to lose $100 million after failing to become a massive box office success.
Since its release, the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed film has been hailed as one of the best films this year, with many praises towards its timely message, direction, writing, performances of the cast, and technical elements. However, the project was also a gamble for Warner Bros. as it reportedly had a budget of $130 million, making it the most expensive film in Anderson's career.
Why One Battle After Another is Poised to Lose $100 Million
According to Variety, One Battle After Another is now expected to be a box office failure for Warner Bros. and is poised to lose around $100 million.
While it garnered the record of being the highest-grossing film in Anderson's career, One Battle After Another has been struggling to break even and has only grossed around $142 million worldwide against the $130 million production budget.
The film would need to gross $300 million to break even, an outcome that is unlikely to happen now that we're three weeks on from its global theatrical release. The studio also spent around $70 million on the promotional campaign.
Not only that, DiCaprio had a first-dollar gross deal on the movie, meaning that he will get a percentage of the box office revenue before the studio recoups any costs.
If you're wondering why films like One Battle After Another have been struggling at the box office, Fandango analyst Shawn Robbin said in the report, "These prestige-type movies have failed to create a sense of FOMO among audiences. They weren’t event-ized enough."
When the studio spokesperson was asked by Variety about the film's box office trouble, they said in a statement, "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."
Despite the film's underperformance at the box office, it is still expected to be a major Oscar player as it is predicted to garner numerous nominations across most categories and is considered to be one of the Best Picture frontrunners.
What is One Battle After Another About?
One Battle After Another focuses on Bob, a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.
Aside from DiCaprio, the cast also includes Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Wood Harris, and Alana Haim. Anderson wrote and directed the film.
It is hailed by critics as one of the best films this year, as it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95% as of this writing. They called it "Paul Thomas Anderson's most entertaining film yet, while also one of his most thematically rich."
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