It’s typical for Oscar contenders to witness a bump in box office collections after they are nominated for an award or two. But the erotic thriller Babygirl didn’t need any help from the Academy to establish itself as a box office hit. The movie has essentially completed its theatrical run, and as it reaches the end of the line, it can look back proudly on what has been an exemplary performance. Babygirl has passed what could probably be its final global box office milestone, cementing star Nicole Kidman’s enduring popularity, and re-invigorating the theatrical potential of a genre believed to have been lost to streaming.
With $27 million domestically and another $28 million from overseas markets, Babygirl’s cumulative global haul now stands at $56 million. This is a fine result for a film aimed at older audiences, and produced on a reported budget of $20 million. Babygirl features Kidman as a high-powered CEO who remains dissatisfied with her husband in the sexual department. She begins a questionable affair with a much-younger intern, played by up-and-comer Harris Dickinson. The movie is directed by Halina Reijn, and premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, where Kidman won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress.
But both Kidman and the film were surprisingly shut out by the Oscars. The movie proved to be divisive upon release; although it holds a “fresh” 76% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, its audience score on the same platform stands at a rather low 48%. In his review, Collider’s Martin Tsai described Babygirl as “beyond noxious.” The movie has, however, proven the box office potential of the erotic thriller genre. While the Fifty Shades of Grey movies were largely successful around a decade ago, more recent films such as Fair Play and Deep Water were released directly on streaming.
‘Babygirl’ Is One of A24’s 10 Highest-Grossing Hits

Babygirl has now out-performed A24 titles such as Ex Machina, Heretic, and Midsommar at the domestic box office. It will also overtake the Best Picture winner Moonlight before it taps out for good. It’s currently trailing Moonlight by only around $10,000. Additionally, Babygirl is now among A24’s 10 highest-grossing films of all time; the list is topped by Everything Everywhere All at Once, which made over $75 million domestically, and also won the Best Picture honor.
Also featuring Antonio Banderas, Babygirl is available to watch at home. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Babygirl

Release Date

December 25, 2024

Runtime

114 Minutes

Director

Halina Reijn

Writers

Halina Reijn