Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s comedic action thriller “ One Battle After Another ” topped box office charts in its debut, collecting $22.4 million from 3,634 North American theaters over the weekend. The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary on the run, added another $26.1 million internationally for a global tally of $48.5 million.

Box office experts are mixed on what to make of those initial results. A low $20 million debut is disappointing for a film that cost above $130 million to produce and another $70 million to market. And “One Battle After Another” certainly requires a huge turnout — roughly $300 million globally — to break even theatrically.

But the R-rated film is original (and nearly three hours long) and doesn’t enjoy the built-in audience that benefits

See Full Page