Bob Marley: One Love Smashes Valentine’s Day Box Office Records on Opening Night

Bob Marley: One Love is making audiences get together and feel all right. The Bob Marley biopic smashed a Valentine’s Day record at the box office. Paramount’s latest release wrapped up $12 million at theaters over the mid-week holiday. Bob Marley: One Love faced some serious competition from Sony’s Madame Web. The superhero flick only managed to get $6 million on the Wednesday opening. But, the real story here is Bob Marley’s movie managing that wild feat. For reference, Channing Tatum’s The Vow paired him with Rachel McAdams back in 2012 and that movie blew the doors off theaters at the time with $11.6 million earned. So, the reggae legend definitely has audiences feeling the love.

However, what can’t be understated is Bob Marley: One Love opening against Madame Web. The Sony Spider-Man spinoff had an uphill battle to climb before it even hit the theater. Reports indicate that the studio wasn’t keen on advertising it as a part of its larger spider-verse. Without the connections to Tom Holland’s web-slinger it was always going to be a tough task to win over audiences. Over at CinemaScore, Madame Web earned a C+ grade. Contrast that with Bob Marley: One Love‘s A-rating, and that might be the difference right there.

How Good Is The Bob Marley Movie?

Fans are clearly enjoy your time with Bob Marley’s new movie. ComicBook.com’s Kofi Outlaw reviewed the Valentines Day record-holder for the site. Bob Marley: One Love might not cover the entire breadth of the man’s story. But, it is a fun ride with Kingsley Ben-Adir.

“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 said. “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.” 

Why Kingsley Ben-Adir Chose This Movie

Kingsley Ben-Adir joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss his role in Bob Marley: One Love. He described meeting the musicians family, and being moved by their purpose. As soon as he had that conversation, the actor knew this was an opportunity that he couldn’t turn down. From these early returns, the message of peace is resonating with audiences.

“He’s a dream role because he’s so rich, there’s so much to him,” Ben-Adir began. “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 added. “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.

Are you seeing Bob Marley: One Love this week? Let us know down in the comments!