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Library/Film/Cocaine Bear
Grade A23 sourcesHIS-01535

Cocaine Bear

Film · 2023 · Notable

59Editable slideCertificate

Cocaine Bear followed its viral trailer with a $23.3 million domestic opening.

Trailer · Universal Pictures on YouTube

Cocaine Bear

@cocainebear · Nov 30, 2022

I'm the bear who ate cocaine. This is my story.

282.8K6.1K
Post · @cocainebear on X

Cocaine Bear

@cocainebear · Feb 8, 2023

specifically where tho? asking for a friend.

1523
Post · @cocainebear on X
Cocaine Bear | Universal Pictures At Home
Universal Pictures (distributor); Elizabeth Banks (director)
I'm the bear who ate cocaine. This is my story.
@cocainebear on X
Cocaine Bear
Variety
Cocaine Bear: How Universal Marketed Movie to $23M Box Office Opening
Deadline
COCAINE BEAR, from left: Aaron Holliday, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., 2023. © Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Variety
'Cocaine Bear' gets high with $23.1M, 'Ant-Man' sinks fast
Associated Press via Click2Houston
An unruly 'Cocaine Bear' helped Elizabeth Banks present award for Best Visual Effects at Oscars 2023
SYFY WIRE / NBCUniversal
Taxidermy marketed as Cocaine Bear at the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall; contextual image, Ferrett333, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ferrett333 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Director Elizabeth Banks at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018; Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Banks Cocaine Bear Variety Cover Story
Variety

Spread Score

How it works
Reach74Contagion35Breadth100Velocity35Longevity2859

Numbers

Worldwide gross, The Numbers
$90M
As of Oct 23, 2026 · The Numbers
Observed peak date
Week of Mar 1, 2023
Feb 22 ’23 to Week of Mar 1, 2023
Platforms
6
Started on Box office
Leverage
2.6×
$90M on $35M budget

Mechanics

  • TransgressionPrimary
  • Platform jump
  • Press loop
  • Newsjacking

How it spread

Trace the origin

The trailer drew jokes about the title and premise, then coverage explaining the real bear. Universal added paid TV and social placements, a game and cast videos. The film opened above forecasts, then domestic weekend grosses declined.

Observed peak within the documented measurement window; not an all-time maximum. Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesNov ’22DecFeb ’23MarAprJunSepMar ’24AugFeb ’25Observed peakXPressTVOpen webBox officeYouTube
XPressTVOpen webBox officeYouTube

13 more events on this chart

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Timeline (16)

  1. November 2022

    Cocaine Bear precursor · Nov 28 ’22

    The film’s poster carried the tagline “GET IN LINE” before the trailer arrived.[1]

    Cocaine Bear | Universal Pictures At Home
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Universal Pictures / Cocaine Bear precursor · Nov 30 ’22

    Universal released the trailer with the caption “I’m the bear who ate cocaine. This is my story.”[2][3]

    Cocaine Bear

  3. December 2022

    CNN precursor · Dec 3 ’22

    CNN explained the real bear’s death after the trailer circulated on Twitter.[4]

  1. precursor · Feb 8 ’23

  2. precursor · Feb 12 ’23

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Why it worked

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Origin
Mixed
Sector
Entertainment
Region
US
Worldwide gross, The Numbers
$90M
As of Oct 23, 2026 · The Numbers
Evidence
Grade A

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New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.