Bob Marley: One Love Passes Major Box Office Milestone

Bob Marley: One Love passed a massive milestone at the box office as the biopic rises higher and higher. The Paramount movie passed $100 million at the global box office after about 10 days. That’s a great run for Kingsley Ben-Adir’s turn as the reggae legend. Bob Marley: One Love set a Valentine’s Day weekend record with $14 million last Wednesday. Things have not slowed down for the movie as it reaches around $71 million here in the United States alone. So, the party continues for Paramount after the performance of Bob Marley: One Love and Mean Girls.

One of the big reasons that the Bob Marley picture has been as able to rack up these box office numbers is the competition at theaters. Last week’s main challenger was the hobbled Madame Web. Reviews might have put Sony’s Spider-Verse entry in peril before people even got to see it in theaters. (Morbius-like word of mouth probably boosted the title but not enough to matter in tabulations.) From there, Bob Marley: One Love’s  biggest competition this week is the new Demon Slayer movie and there’s not quite the same level of broad appeal on that front. So, it’s been a weird start to the year at theaters across the United States.

Kingsley Ben-Adir Shines As Bob Marley

Capturing the spirit of Bob Marley during a pivotal moment of his life was this project’s goal. Kingsley Ben-Adir talked to MSNBC’s Morning Joe about working with the musical legend’s family in Bob Marley: One Love. The actor was incredibly moved by their pitch for the film. After walking out of that conversation, Ben-Adir realized that he couldn’t turn down their offer.

“He’s a dream role because he’s so rich, there’s so much to him,” Ben-Adir revealed. “To be clear, I heard that the family were involved. Once I spent time with them, once I understood what their intention was, it just made sense to me, to go on the journey with them. There was no way that I could say no. They wanted to explore their dad at this time on a human level. To try and capture a little bit of his essence. Not trying to do an imitation or mimicry, you know? Because Bob, you can’t play him, he was too big.” 

“So, trying to find Bob’s vulnerability after this moment. After he nearly lost his life, after Rita nearly lost her life, after the band almost died. Bob came to London and made this masterpiece in a matter of months,” he continued. “So, for me, I was like, ‘out of this trauma came a masterpiece.’ It was this outpouring and as an artist, I found that very interesting. For me, it was an exploration of safety, internal safety, internal peace, as much as it was about Bob’s message of spreading peace.

How Good Is The New Bob Marley Movie?

One quick look at the Rotten Tomatoes score shows that audiences have loved Bob Marley: One Love. ComicBook.com trusted Kofi Outlaw to review the box office leader when it premiered. The new movie has a pretty tight focus, but it’s enjoyable to see an icon stretch across the screen. 

“Bob Marley: One Love attempts to use a pivotal time in the life of the now-legendary musician and social revolutionary to define who he was as a man, and what his time on Earth meant,” Outlaw argues. “With a cast that is led by Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch as Bob Marley and his wife and musical partner Rita, respectively, and heavy influence from the Marley estate, One Love is at once a touching portrait of a man, but also not entirely comprehensive (or even honest) in function as a biopic.” 

Have you seen Bob Marley: One Love yet? Let us know down in the comments!