“Mickey 17,” a dystopian sci-fi comedy starring a dozen Robert Pattinsons, was No. 1 at the domestic box office with $19.1 million from 3,807 theaters. But the Warner Bros. film cost $118 million, a staggering price for an original, offbeat space odyssey — and the kind of swing for the fence that could require a few lifetimes to turn a theatrical profit.

Critics and audiences were mixed on the R-rated “Mickey 17,” whose “B” grade on CinemaScore and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes aren’t encouraging for the film’s staying power. It’s a concern because “Mickey 17,” which cost another $80 million to market, needs to earn around $275 million to $300 million globally to get into the black during its big screen run, according to rival executives with knowledge of similar productions.

Internationally, “Mickey 17” brought in $25.4 million from 66 territories. The film opened last weekend in South Korea and has grossed $34.2 million overseas and $53.3 million worldwide in total. Premium large formats, such as Imax and Dolby, accounted for 47% of opening weekend ticket sales.

“Mickey 17” is director Bong Joon Ho’s follow-up to “Parasite,” a pitch black comedy that became the first foreign language film to ever win the Oscar for best picture. “Mickey 17,” adapted from Edward Ashton’s novel “Mickey7,” follows Pattinson as he plays multiple versions of the same character, an expendable worker who is able to be reprinted. He’s sent on a human expedition to colonize the inhospitable ice world known as Niflheim, where he perishes over and over and over again. Hell breaks loose when one of the Mickeys is presumed dead and a replacement duplicate tries to take his place. Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo round out the cast.

“Mickey 17” kicks off the riskiest slate that Warner Bros. has crafted in years, one that puts a greater emphasis on expensive, director-driven originals rather than tested franchise fare. Up next there’s “Alto Knights,” a $45 million gangster drama in which Robert De Niro stars opposite himself as a mob boss (March 21); Jack Black-led “A Minecraft Movie,” a $150 million live-action adaptation of the popular video game (April 1); and “Sinners,” a $90 million vampire horror story from “Black Panther” and “Creed” director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan (April 18). James Gunn’s “Superman” reboot, which has lofty ambitions of salvaging the flailing DC Universe, lands in theaters over the summer on July 11.

Another newcomer, the Angel Studios underdog drama “Rule Breakers” misfired with $1 million from 2,044 theaters, a rough start for a movie that’s playing on more than 2,000 screens. However, the feel-good film about Afghanistan’s first competitive robotics team has positive reviews and an “A” grade on CinemaScore, so all hope is not lost.

Overall, this weekend is down nearly 60% compared to the same weekend last year when “Dune: Part Two” was steamrolling the box office. Year-to-date revenues are 1% above the same point in 2024 and 34% behind 2019, according to Comscore.

“Amidst a series of low grossing weekends, we have to await the next inevitable upturn at the theatrical box office,” says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The best way to assess the theatrical marketplace is to take a broad view rather than allowing a few lackluster weeks to spark sweeping negative pronouncements of the long-term health of the entire industry.”

Disney and Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World” slid to second place after three weeks at the No. 1 spot. The superhero adventure, starring Anthony Mackie as the star-spangled Avenger, added $8.5 million from 3,480 theaters in its fourth frame. It will end the weekend with $177 million domestically and $370.8 million worldwide, a solid tally except that the tentpole cost more than $180 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote to global audiences. Marvel, which has lacked consistency since “Avengers: Endgame,” has two other tentpoles over the next six months: “Thunderbolts” on May 2 and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on July 25.

“Last Breath,” a survival thriller with Woody Harrelson, captured third place with $4.2 million from 3,090 venues — a 47% decline from its debut. After two weeks on the big screen, “Last Breath” has generated $14.5 million in North America. The film, from Focus Features, reportedly cost under $24 million.

Neon’s gory thriller “The Monkey” took the No. 4 slot with $3.9 million from 2,955 locations in its third outing. The $10 million-budgeted film has grossed $31 million domestically to date.

Sony’s “Paddington in Peru” rounded out the top five with $3.8 million from 3,085 theaters, boosting its domestic total to a tepid $36.9 million after four weekends. The adventure about the polite, marmalade-loving stuffed bear has been far more popular overseas with $138.8 million and $175.8 million globally. But the third installment is nowhere near the heights of the first two films in the series, 2014’s “Paddington” ($326 million globally) and 2017’s “Paddington 2” ($290 million globally).

Meanwhile, Oscar winners like “Anora” and “The Brutalist” tried to parlay their little gold men into ticket sales. A24’s “The Brutalist,” which landed three statues, didn’t manage a box office boost with just $153,072 from 214 screens and $16.1 million in total.

Best-picture recipient “Anora,” however, notched one of its biggest weekend hauls to date with $1.8 million from 1,938 screens. Sean Baker’s comedy about a Brooklyn sex worker who marries a Russian oligarch’s son, is still among the lowest-grossing best picture winners in modern history with $18 million domestically and $40 million worldwide. It’s right up there with Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker,” which grossed $17 million domestically and $49 million worldwide in 2008. Of course, these distinctions don’t include “Nomadland,” which barely played in theaters because of COVID, or “CODA,” which barely played in theaters because it was released by Apple.