Warner Bros. is heading into the August 14 weekend with The End of Oak Street, a sci-fi survival thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, as the studio looks for a stronger theatrical performer after a difficult year at the domestic box office. The film is opening in approximately 3,400 North American theatres and is currently projected to gross $18 million to $23 million domestically in its opening weekend, with another $20 million to $25 million expected internationally. The film carries an $80 million production budget.
Directed and written by David Robert Mitchell, The End of Oak Street is set in the early 1980s and follows a suburban family whose entire street is mysteriously transported to the Cretaceous period. With prehistoric predators surrounding them and no obvious route back to their own time, the residents must find a way to survive. Hathaway and McGregor play the parents, while Maisy Stella and Christian Convery play their children.
Mitchell, who previously directed the 2014 horror film It Follows, is joined behind the camera by producer J.J. Abrams, who is producing through Bad Robot. The film’s score comes from Michael Giacchino.
The early critical response provides the film with a positive starting point. The End of Oak Street currently holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes in the supplied tracking, while The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney described the movie as “mindlessly entertaining in a big-dumb-fun kind of way.”
That response suggests the film is being positioned primarily as accessible genre entertainment rather than a prestige-driven science-fiction release. Its combination of suburban survival, dinosaurs and a contained family story could give it appeal among audiences looking for a straightforward creature-feature experience. The film’s commercial positioning has been compared with titles such as The Meg and Rampage.
The film will nevertheless enter a competitive marketplace. Paramount’s PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie is also opening this weekend and has already collected $27.5 million internationally from its early rollout. The Brink of War, the Ronald Reagan drama starring Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris, is opening on approximately 2,000 screens, while The Rivals of Amziah King and The Wrong Girls are entering the market in more limited releases.
The larger obstacle for The End of Oak Street, however, remains the films already dominating the marketplace. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is expected to remain the weekend’s biggest film and is projected to finish ahead of the new release for a third consecutive weekend. The Marvel blockbuster has crossed $1.67 billion worldwide in under two weeks and is tracking toward the $2 billion mark.
The Odyssey is also expected to remain a significant presence in its fifth weekend, with a projected $17 million to $20 million domestic haul. The film has already crossed $1.1 billion worldwide, including approximately $466 million domestically.
For Warner Bros., the performance of The End of Oak Street carries significance beyond its individual opening. The studio has had a difficult 2026 at the domestic box office, with all seven of its releases so far opening below $40 million. The supplied data also points to disappointments including The Bride! and Supergirl, while Warner Bros.’ theatrical revenue fell 46% year over year in its most recent quarterly report.
That represents a sharp contrast with Warner Bros.’ 2025 theatrical performance. The studio released successful titles including A Minecraft Movie and Sinners, while Zach Cregger’s Weapons opened to $43.5 million. According to the supplied comparison, Weapons was the sixth of seven consecutive Warner Bros. releases to open above $40 million domestically.
The expectations for The End of Oak Street are consequently more measured. At an $18 million to $23 million domestic opening, the film would not be entering blockbuster territory, but its $80 million production cost also means Warner Bros. does not necessarily need a massive debut for the film to have a viable theatrical run.
The key will be its performance after opening weekend. The studio is hoping that the film can build word of mouth among audiences in the 18–35 demographic and maintain its business through the remainder of August and into September. Hathaway is also tracking as a strong first choice among women, which could help the film reach an audience beyond the core creature-feature demographic.
The film will have a relatively clear window for one week before Insidious: Out of the Further arrives on August 21. That gives The End of Oak Street an opportunity to establish itself before another major genre release enters the market.
Box-office comparisons also underline the range of possible outcomes. The supplied analysis compares the film with Warner Bros.’ Weapons, which opened to $43.5 million last year, while films such as 65 and The Creator opened in the $12 million to $14 million range.
For The End of Oak Street, therefore, the opening weekend may be less important than its ability to hold. A debut within the projected $18 million–$23 million range, followed by solid weekday business and reasonable second-weekend retention, could give the film enough theatrical legs to make the $80 million production viable.
The film’s box-office result will ultimately depend on whether its early audience response translates into sustained demand. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey continuing to occupy premium attention, and PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie competing for family audiences, The End of Oak Street will need to establish its own audience quickly.
For Warner Bros., the immediate target is therefore not necessarily a spectacular opening but a stable theatrical run. The studio is hoping that Anne Hathaway’s star appeal, David Robert Mitchell’s genre credentials and the film’s unusual dinosaur-survival premise can turn a projected $18 million–$23 million debut into a stronger late-summer performer.
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