Jack Quaid’s action-comedy “ Novocaine ” topped a painfully slow weekend at the box office with $8.7 million. For theater owners, however, there’s not too much to celebrate: It’s one of the worst debuts to still capture the No. 1 spot (at least since the pandemic ground moviegoing to a halt).

The studio also had early access showings the weekend prior, which are included in the total. The R-rated movie, directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, got generally positive reviews with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.