Warner Bros.’ The End of Oak Street got an early start at the domestic box office with $2.5 million in Thursday previews, a solid launch pad for director David Robert Mitchell’s dinosaur-driven sci-fi survival thriller as it enters a crowded late-summer marketplace.
The film is rolling out in 3,400 theaters across North America, with the studio projecting an opening weekend between $18 million and $23 million. That range would put The End of Oak Street in position for a respectable debut, particularly as it arrives during the third weekend of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which continues to dominate multiplex conversation and soak up premium-format demand.
Led by Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, the film gives Warner Bros. a genre play at a point in the calendar when studios often look for movies that can bridge summer spectacle and early fall adult-skewing fare. Mitchell, best known for blending dread, atmosphere and pop-cultural texture in films such as It Follows and Under the Silver Lake, is stepping into a bigger commercial sandbox here, pairing survival-movie mechanics with creature-feature stakes.
The $2.5 million preview figure is not a breakout on its own, but it gives the studio room to argue that the film is connecting with genre fans before word-of-mouth fully takes hold. For an original movie that is not based on a superhero brand, a game, a toy or a decades-old franchise, the number will be watched closely by exhibitors and rival studios looking for signs of life beyond the safest intellectual property.
That matters because the theatrical business remains unusually dependent on a handful of oversized tentpoles. When a movie like Spider-Man: Brand New Day is working, it can lift overall attendance and keep theaters busy. But it can also make it harder for new wide releases to break through, especially if they are competing for younger audiences, large-format screens and the kind of social-media oxygen that turns an opening weekend into an event.
The End of Oak Street is entering that environment with a premise that is easy to market: people, danger and dinosaurs. The challenge is convincing audiences that it offers more than familiar survival thrills. Mitchell’s involvement gives the film a filmmaker-forward hook, while Hathaway and McGregor bring recognizable star power at a time when star-driven originals have had an uneven run at the box office.
Why the Opening Matters
An $18 million-to-$23 million opening would not put The End of Oak Street in the same league as the summer’s mega-franchises, but it could represent a meaningful win if the film shows staying power. Genre films can be especially sensitive to audience reaction: a strong CinemaScore, energetic social chatter or viral set piece can stretch a debut into a healthy run, while weak word-of-mouth can quickly collapse momentum after Friday night.
For Warner Bros., the release also tests how much appetite remains for original sci-fi on the big screen. The studio has had success in recent years with filmmakers who can deliver distinct theatrical experiences, but the economics are unforgiving. Marketing costs are high, theatrical windows are scrutinized, and audiences have become more selective about what they will leave home to see.
The late-summer slot can be both opportunity and obstacle. On one hand, moviegoers are still in blockbuster mode, students have not all returned to school, and theaters need fresh product after weeks of franchise play. On the other hand, the season’s final stretch can punish movies that do not feel urgent. A strong preview start helps, but the weekend pattern will reveal whether The End of Oak Street is drawing a broad crowd or leaning heavily on Thursday-night genre loyalists.
The presence of Spider-Man: Brand New Day makes the comparison especially sharp. Marvel titles, even in later weekends, tend to command attention from casual viewers and repeat customers. If The End of Oak Street can carve out its own lane while the superhero film remains a box office force, it would signal that theaters can support more than one major audience proposition at the same time.
Industry Context
Hollywood has spent much of the post-pandemic era debating the future of original theatrical movies. Horror and sci-fi have often been among the few categories capable of overperforming without franchise armor, largely because audiences still value communal tension, shocks and spectacle. Dinosaurs, in particular, remain reliable screen attractions, though the shadow of long-running prehistoric franchises means any new entrant has to differentiate itself quickly.
Mitchell’s film arrives with the advantage of a clean concept and a recognizable cast, but its longer-term prospects will likely depend on whether viewers embrace its tone. A survival thriller can skew intense and adult, while the dinosaur angle may suggest a broader adventure. How successfully Warner Bros. balances those expectations could shape the film’s legs beyond opening weekend.
Exhibitors will also be watching premium-format performance. Even without owning the weekend’s biggest screens outright, a visually driven creature feature can benefit from audiences willing to pay more for scale and sound. If demand holds beyond Thursday and Friday, theater owners may have reason to keep the film on larger screens longer than initially expected.
What Happens Next
The key test now is Friday’s full-day number and the Saturday hold. If The End of Oak Street expands beyond its preview-heavy base and brings in walk-up audiences, it could land near the higher end of Warner Bros.’ projection. If interest proves front-loaded, the film may settle closer to the low end while still giving the studio a useful genre entry in a difficult corridor.
Either way, the weekend will offer another data point in Hollywood’s ongoing question: can an original, star-backed theatrical movie still make noise when a superhero juggernaut is already filling the room? For The End of Oak Street, the answer begins with a $2.5 million first bite.