Overview

• On the Directors Guild of America’s podcast The Director’s Cut, Christopher Nolan called Johnson’s turn as Mark Kerr “heartbreaking” and “incredible,” saying he doesn’t think audiences will see a better performance this year.
• After a career-low U.S. opening of about $5.8–$5.9 million, worldwide grosses sit around $13.8–$14 million nearly two weeks into release, per box office trackers.
• Analysts cite the film’s estimated $50 million production cost and standard multipliers to peg a break-even target near $125 million globally, a threshold that appears out of reach at its current pace.
• Benny Safdie’s film, released by A24 and co-starring Emily Blunt, won him the best director prize at the Venice Film Festival and holds a roughly 71% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Johnson has addressed the results by emphasizing craft over receipts in a social media statement, while the production’s authenticity includes roles for real fighters such as Ryan Bader and Oleksandr Usyk.