The Naked Gun Blasts Into Theaters With One of the Decade’s Biggest Comedy Openings

Paramount’s latest comedy, “The Naked Gun,” is off to a strong start at the box office. The slapstick reboot, directed by Akiva Schaffer of Lonely Island fame, opened in third place with $17 million from 3,344 theaters.

Internationally, it added another $11.5 million, pushing its first weekend global haul to $28.5 million. With a production budget of $42 million, it’s considered a solid launch for a genre that rarely sees big-screen success anymore.

Liam Neeson stars as the bumbling Los Angeles police officer Frank Drebin Jr., stepping into a role made famous by the original trilogy. The film’s reception has been overwhelmingly positive.

Rotten Tomatoes shows that 90% of 207 critics’ reviews are favorable, with the site’s consensus stating, “With Liam Neeson’s gravelly gravitas proving to be a perfect fit for Frank Drebin’s deadpan buffoonery, The Naked Gun revives the original trilogy’s daffy sense of humor like it never went out of style.” On Metacritic, the movie has scored a 75 out of 100, signaling generally favorable reviews, while audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A-.

Theatrical comedies have been struggling for years, with box office revenue for the genre less than half of what it once was, according to film consultant David A. Gross. In fact, “The Naked Gun” is only the second straightforward comedy to hit theaters in 2025, following Sony’s “One of Them Days” back in January. Another, Disney’s PG-rated “Freakier Friday,” is set to arrive next weekend.

At a Los Angeles screening, one of the film’s producers, Seth MacFarlane, addressed the long gap between major comedy releases. “For those of you who don’t remember the original ‘Naked Gun,’ there used to be these movies called comedies,” he joked. “It’s been so long since one came out that Paramount asked me to explain to you that it is supposed to be funny, just so you’re not confused.”

Streaming has taken some of the spotlight for comedy. “Happy Gilmore 2,” for instance, became Adam Sandler’s most-watched film on Netflix, drawing 47 million viewers in its first weekend. But Paramount leaned into a more traditional theatrical push for “The Naked Gun,” even creating a tongue-in-cheek PSA featuring Neeson himself. “For the price of one movie ticket, you can help rescue a comedy and in the process you’ll get to share a smile, a laugh and even the occasional groan with the people in your very own community,” Neeson says in the spot.

The film has also been in headlines for off-screen reasons, with reports of a romance between Neeson and co-star Pamela Anderson, who’s enjoying a career resurgence following “The Last Showgirl.” For now, “The Naked Gun” looks like it’s delivering both laughs and box office life to a struggling genre.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!