A Complete Unknownhas passed a major milestone, breaking a box office record for star Timothée Chalamet. Chalamet plays folk icon Bob Dylan in the music biopic, which was directed byWalk the Line’s James Mangold and also stars Edward Norton as Pete Seeger, Elle Fanning as the lightly fictionalized Sylvie Russo, Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez, Boyd Holbrook as Johnny Cash, and Scoot McNairy as Woody Guthrie. Thetheatrical release ofA Complete Unknownkicked off on Christmas Day in 2024, becoming the second highest-grossing debut movie that weekend behindNosferatu.
PerDeadline, as of Sunday morning,A Complete Unknownis projected to add a 3-day total of $5 million by the end of its third weekend in domestic theaters. In addition to seeing the movie land at No. 7 on the domestic chart for the weekend, this will bring its cumulative gross to $50.8 million. This marksthe first time that a Timothée Chalamet-led non-blockbuster movie has passed the $50 million milestone. His previous movies to gross more than $50 million areDune,Dune: Part Two, andWonka.
Chalamet also held supporting roles in the moviesInterstellar,Little Women, andLady Bird, which all grossed over $50 million. In addition to making history for Chalamet-led projects,A Complete Unknownis onlythe 13th music biopic to ever gross more than $50 million at the domestic box office. The Bob Dylan movie has not opened in international markets at the time of writing.
What This Means For A Complete Unknown
Chalamet’s Star Continues To Rise
This milestone for theComplete Unknownstarsees himbeating the record previously set by his breakout role in Luca Guadagnino’sCall Me By Your Name, which grossed $43.1 million in theaters. Below, see a breakdown of the performance of every non-blockbuster movie featuring Chalamet as a lead or co-lead that made more than $1 million in theaters:
$50.8 million (and counting)
$43.1 million
$23.8 million
$16.6 million
Bones and All(2022)
$15.3 million
This shows thatTimothée Chalamet moviesoutside of his IP blockbusters still have the potential to be major players in the theatrical space. The fact that his star is continuing to rise could prove to be very beneficial for his next movie, which is A24’sMarty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie. The studio has been experimenting with larger budgets, and the table tennis drama is their most expensive outing yetwith a $70 million price tag, soit will need to perform even better thanA Complete Unknownjust to break even.
Our Take On The Complete Unknown Milestone
It Still Has A Way To Go
While this milestone is significant,A Complete Unknownstill has yet to break even in theaters. The movie’s budget is reportedly somewhere between $50 and $70 million, whichlikely places its break-even point somewhere around $125 million or more, a milestone that its current $70 million projections won’t reach. However, the movie’s status as an awards season contender, particularly with multiple major nominations for Chalamet and a possible Oscar nomination impending, could help offset its potential losses by increasing the status of the star as well as the studios and filmmakers involved.
A Complete Unknown
Cast
A Complete Unknown is a biographical movie that follows a young Bob Dylan as he integrates with New York and catches the eye of the folk singers in the area, eventually propelling him into stardom.
