Love HurtsandHeart Eyeseach have an uphill battle at the box office if either hopes to debut at No. 1. Both themed titles are debuting on the weekend before Valentine’s Day 2025, facing off to see which will connect the most with general audiences over the weekend.Love Hurtsis an action-comedy movie featuring recentEverything Everywhere All At OnceOscar winner Ke Huy Quan as a seemingly wholesome realtor whose past as an assassin catches up with him. The star-studded cast of the movie also includes Ariana DeBose, Daniel Wu, Marshawn Lynch, Rhys Darby, and Sean Astin.
Heart Eyes, which was directed by Josh Ruben, was written by Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon (re-teaming after their 2020 body-swap slasherFreaky) alongs with Phillip Murphy. Specifically set on Valentine’s Day, it followsa pair of coworkers who are mistaken for a couple by a masked serial killerwho begins to target them, turning the holiday into a nightmare.Scream(2022) andScream VIstar Mason Gooding andTotally Killerstar Olivia Holt lead theHeart Eyescast, which also includes Gigi Zumbado, Michaela Watkins, and Jordana Brewster, withFinal Destination,Chucky, andIdle Handsalumnus Devon Sawa.
Heart Eyes Follows A Popular Horror Trend, But Can Give It A Twist For The Better
2025’s Heart Eyes is following a popular horror trend, but thanks to its chosen holiday, it can give this trend a much-needed twist.
Love Hurts' Opening Weekend Box Office Projections
It Should Come In Below $10 Million
Per the latest forecast fromVariety, as of February 5, theLove Hurtsreleaseisexpected to debut at the domestic box office with a 3-day opening weekend total of $7 million. This is roughly in the middle of the $5 to $10 million range previously shown by its long-range forecast in late January. This would also be the third-best domestic opening so far for a 2025 action movie, behindDen of Thieves: Pantera($15 million) andFlight Risk($11.6 million).
Heart Eyes' Opening Weekend Box Office Projections
Love Hurts' slasher movie competitor was also previously projected to open in the $5 to $10 million range. That forecast has not changed, though theVarietyreport shows theHeart Eyesreleaseturning out a stronger debut than the action-comedy witha 3-day opening weekend total of $8 million. This would mark the third-best domestic debut for a 2025 horror movie so far, behindWolf Man($10.9 million) andCompanion($9.3 million).
Wolf Mancrashed during its sophomore weekend with a staggering week-on-week drop of 70.2%.
BothLove HurtsandHeart Eyescome with reported budgets of $18 million, so both are currently expecting to earn back about half that total during the February 7 weekend. Considering the fact that movies typically need to earn roughly two and a half times their budgets in order to turn a profit in theaters, this likely places their break-even points somewhere around $45 million. Both titles therefore have an uphill battle toward profitability regardless of which is the victor on the chart.
Smaller Releases For February 7 & Box Office Projections
Indie Releases, International Features, & More Are Also Coming To Theaters
With two major new releases hitting theaters on February 7, there are not too many notable small releases hitting theaters around the same time. However, a few specialized releases are projected to make small ripples at the domestic box office over the weekend, including the limited release debut of the music documentaryBecoming Led Zeppelinandan IMAX re-release of the 2019 Best Picture winnerParasite, which was directed by Bong Joon-ho. Below, see a breakdown of the weekend’s smaller new releases and their domestic box office projections fromBox Office Theory, if any:
unknown
$1 million - $2.5 million
Parasite(IMAX)
$500,000 - $2 million
Other movies that are set to arrive in limited release on the weekend of February 7 include Paolo Sorrentino’s coming-of-age dramaParthenope, which premiered in competition at Cannes in 2024, the Ireland-based thrillerBring Them Down, which stars Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, the Norwegian dramaArmand, which starsThe Worst Person in the Worldbreakout Renate Reinsve, and the apocalyptic road trip movieWhen I’m Ready, which features appearances by Lauren Cohan and Dermot Mulroney.None of these movies should make enough of a splashat the box office to topple eitherLove HurtsorHeart Eyes.
Dog Man Is Projected To Easily Win The February 7th Weekend
The Powerhouse Animated Hit Is In Its Second Weekend
Although some other new releases have the chance to land spots in the overall Top 10 at the domestic box office, the true competition for bothHeart EyesandLove Hurtsis the ongoingDog Manrelease. The movie, which is a spinoff from 2017’sCaptain Underpantsand is based on the Dav Pilkey graphic novel series of the same name, is DreamWorks Animation’s 50th feature film and debuted on the last day of January. It took No. 1 with a debut haul of $36 million and isprojected to earn between $19 and $22 million in its sophomore weekend.
Dog Manfollows the adventures of a human law enforcement officer who has had the head of his police dog partner grafted onto his body.
Given the fact that its opening weekend earned more than the projected debuts ofLove HurtsandHeart Eyescombined,it seems practically inevitable thatDog Manwill take No. 1 during its sophomore weekendas well. For it to fall below the current projections ofHeart Eyes, it would have to have a week-on-week drop of 77.8%, which would tie for the 37th worst week 2 drop of all time. This is highly unlikely, considering the fact that it has garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews from audiences, earning a solidly Fresh 85% score on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter.
Predicted Top 10 Box Office For February 7-9, 2025
The Chart Goes Way Beyond The Top 3
In addition toDog Man,there are quite a few holdover titles vying for chart positionsat the domestic box office alongsideHeart Eyes,Love Hurts, and the smaller new releases. This includes new 2025 releases such asFlight Risk,Companion, andOne of Them Days, in addition to 2024 hits includingMufasa: The Lion King,Sonic the Hedgehog 3,Moana 2, and the Bob Dylan biopicA Complete Unknown, which have remained in the Top 10 for weeks running. Below, see one way that the Top 10 could look by the end of the weekend of February 7:
1
$18.4 million
2
$8 million
3
$7 million
4
$4.6 million
5
$4.1 million
6
$3.8 million
7
$2 million
8
$1.9 million
9
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
$1.8 million
10
Moana 2
$1.6 million
While the two new releases are still neck and neck at the time of writing, glowingHeart Eyesreviewscould help push it over the edge, advancing the lead that current projections are showing.It has earned a strong 89% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoesat the time of writing, whereasLove Hurtsreviews are still being held off, which could betray the fact that the studio is nervous it will receive a Rotten score. However, the slasher movie’s lead still more than likely puts it at No. 2 behindDog Man, the more or less undisputed champion.
Love Hurts
Cast
Love Hurts: Released in February 2025, Love Hurts follows a realtor whose past life resurfaces when an old partner-in-crime brings an ominous message. As he faces pressure from his crime-lord brother, he is forced to confront the past and the secrets he thought were long buried.
Heart Eyes
In Heart Eyes, two co-workers working late on Valentine’s Day are mistaken for a couple by the infamous Heart Eyes Killer. Directed by Josh Ruben and written by Michael Kennedy and Christopher Landon, the film stars Mason Gooding and Olivia Holt.
