Bob Marley: One Love is exceeding expectations at the box office.
The Paramount biopic, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the late reggae icon, is posting a six-day domestic opening of $46.2 million, including $28.3 million for the three-day weekend, according to early estimates reported by The Hollywood Reporter. That high number rivals the start of other musical biopics like Rocketman, based on the life and career of Elton John.
One Love opened on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) and has received an impressive A rating on CinemaScore. The Reinaldo Marcus Green-directed film, which benefits from having an ethnically diverse audience, earned a record $14 million from 3,536 theaters, the top midweek opener ever for Valentine’s Day, according to the studio. The movie also earned another $3.9 million on Thursday for a two-day domestic total of $17.9 million, according to THR.
Sony’s Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson, is projecting a six-day opening of $24 million, marking one of the lowest openings for a movie mentioning a Marvel character, THR reports. The film is not, however, considered part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One Love covers the dynamic between Marley, his backing band The Wailers and the musician’s family in the year immediately following an assassination attempt on his life. Rounded out by a cast that includes Lashana Lynch as Rita Marley and James Norton as producer and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, the movie aims to humanize a man whose talent and message caused him to, in many ways, transcend mortality.
Marley’s songs have garnered a whopping seven billion official on-demand U.S. streams, per Luminate, while his Legend compilation is the second-longest charting album in Billboard 200 history (821 weeks).