February may not be the hottest time for moviegoers, but nevertheless, "Moonfall" had its thunder taken by some surrounding releases. On its opening weekend, "Moonfall" came in second to "Jackass Forever," the fourth entry in the fan-favorite comedy franchise. The Paramount film had an opening weekend gross of over $23 million, more than double the $9.8 million brought in by "Moonfall."
Other new releases were also fighting for the audience's attention at the time. Movies such as "Marry Me," "Dog," "Death on the Nile," and "Uncharted" all came out in February, with the latter two overtaking the top box office spot in the second and third week of the theatrical run of "Moonfall." Even holdovers from previous months ended up besting "Moonfall," with movies such as "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Sing 2," and "Scream" managing to top the sci-fi film by its second week and fully kicking it out of the domestic top 10 by its third.
As audiences were coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Moonfall" premiered when the industry was learning what audiences were willing to see in theaters. An end-of-the-world disaster flick may not have been the right call at this time, but that's far from the only thing that kept "Moonfall" from connecting with moviegoers.
