Once Were Warriors backdrop
Once Were Warriors poster
#8,784 All-time worldwide
#133 1994 releases

Movie profile

Once Were Warriors

1994 · 99 min · Avalon Studios

Drama
IMDb FilmDB Where to watch

Box office snapshot

Financial performance

Reference figures based on available reported data.
Worldwide gross $6.7M
Budget $950,000
Gross minus budget $5.8M
ROI 7.05x

Domestic gross

$3.4M

Estimated from worldwide gross

International gross

$3.4M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Opening weekend

$603,000

Estimated from worldwide gross

Ranking context

Where Once Were Warriors ranks

Positioned across the all-time chart, release year, studio, franchise and genre indexes where enough mapped data exists.
Open rankings
All-time worldwide #8,784 All-time chart position of 12,922 titles Compared with every rankable movie in the current worldwide dataset. 1994 releases #133 Release-year chart position of 238 titles Ranked against movies released in 1994. Primary genre #3,731 Drama of 5,859 titles Genre context based on the first mapped genre on this profile.

Nearby worldwide ranks

Comparable titles immediately around this movie by reported worldwide gross.

#8,781 The Door in the Floor 2004 · $6.7M #8,782 The Three Caballeros 1944 · $6.7M #8,783 Roger & Me 1989 · $6.7M #8,792 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection 1990 · $6.7M #8,793 Baghead 2023 · $6.7M #8,794 U Turn 1997 · $6.7M

Quick answer

How did Once Were Warriors (1994) perform at the box office?

High confidence

Once Were Warriors (1994) earned a reported $6.7M worldwide against a reported $950.0K production budget. Its gross-minus-budget figure is about $5.8M. The current gross-to-budget multiple is 7.05x. In this database it currently ranks #8,784 in the current all-time worldwide chart set and #133 among 1994 releases.

Worldwide gross
$6,700,000
Budget
$950,000
Gross minus budget
$5,750,000
ROI
7.05x
Source: TMDb. Last updated: Jul 13, 2026. View source Gross-minus-budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and later home/streaming revenue.

Synopsis

Story

In a violent relationship, it takes a mother’s strength to save herself and her children from the man she loved. Once Were Warriors is a violent love story set against a contemporary urban backdrop.

Movie facts

Production details

Release date
Sep 2, 1994
Production
Avalon Studios, New Zealand Film Commission, NZ on Air
Countries
NZ

Related indexes

Browse related box office pages

Studio / production companyAvalon Studios FranchiseOnce Were Warriors Release year chart1994 box office Genre chartDrama

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AI summary

Why this movie matters

Released in 1994, Once Were Warriors is positioned in this dataset as a Drama title from Avalon Studios. Its box office profile shows that available worldwide gross is $6.7M, reported production budget is $950,000, gross-minus-budget is $5.8M, ROI is 7.05x. For comparison, it currently sits #8,784 all-time in the current chart set and #133 among 1994 releases. Streaming availability should be checked against the selected United States region because provider rights can change.

AI-generated contextual summary based on available movie, genre, ranking and box office data. It does not replace official distributor notes or financial reporting.
Data noteGross minus budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and downstream revenue. Domestic, international and opening weekend figures marked as estimated are modelled estimates.