Warner Bros.’ FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES was far and above the top movie of the weekend, with a three-day opening of $ 51.0 M. The total box office for all films came in at $105.6M, higher than last year on this same weekend when $96.5M was produced, led by the $33.7M Paramount’s family movie IF earned in its debut.
While this weekend’s results are solid, the industry has already turned its attention to next weekend when the one-two punch of Disney’s LILO & STITCH and Paramount’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING arrive at the cineplex. The Memorial Day holiday weekend is usually a highlight in summer moviegoing.
What makes this Memorial Day so very promising is the fact that two blockbusters with appeal to different demographics will open side by side. The current record for the box office on Memorial Day weekend was set in 2022, with $177.2M earned on Friday-Saturday-Sunday and $223.4M after adding in ticket sales on the Monday holiday. TOP GUN: MAVERICK alone accounted for $126.7M for the three days, and $160.5M for the four days.
On the other hand, last year’s Memorial Day weekend had one of the lowest totals in decades, with grosses of $101.8M for the three days and $132.3M for the four. These poor results were blamed on strike-induced production delays to important titles and ever-present competition from streaming. Going into next weekend, forecasters are predicting that LILO & STITCH and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING will generate a minimum of $200M for the three days and $250M for the four days.
This week’s top movie was FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES, the sixth chapter of the FINAL DESTINATION horror franchise from Warner Bros. The previous five movies grossed more than $650M worldwide and cost only $154M to produce, which comes out to a very healthy ratio of 4.2 to 1 when comparing its worldwide box office to production cost. The franchise began in 2000 with the original FINAL DESTINATION.
Follow-up films were released in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2011. At that point, the franchise went dormant for 14 years until this weekend’s BLOODLINES. The pause was somewhat of a surprise, given that all movies in the series were profitable, and results were trending upwards with the last two releases: THE FINAL DESTINATION ($186.2M worldwide in 2009) and FINAL DESTINATION 5 ($157.9M worldwide in 2011). In Hollywood, a profitable franchise is rarely abandoned.
FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES is more of a reimagining than a sequel or prequel, with its original creator, Jeffrey Reddick, and producer Craig Perry returning to guide the production. With horror films taking up a larger share of the box office over the last several years, 2025 seemed to be an ideal time to release a new chapter in the FINAL DESTINATION series.
The first trailer for BLOODLINES garnered 178.7 million views within its first 24 hours of online availability, making it the second most-watched horror movie trailer in history, behind Stephen King’s IT in 2017. Now with an opening weekend of $51.0M, BLOODLINES has set a new high-water mark for the franchise, blowing away THE FINAL DESTINATION’s $27.4M opening in 2009, even after adjusting that number up to account for the past 15 years of inflation.
The movie is directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, known for their work on FREAKS from 2018. They continue the franchise’s “creative death” sequences that have been central to the success of previous films in the series. FINAL DESTINATION fans have been treated to some of the most unique ways to die in cinematic history.
In BLOODLINES, one actor had to endure five days of shooting in which his character is dragged by a chain attached to his nose ring. The filmmakers chose to use practical effects rather than CGI to enhance the realism of the death scenes. The story follows college student Stefani Reyes, who is plagued by recurring nightmares of a disaster that took place in 1969 at a restaurant in Skyview Tower, with her grandmother Iris narrowly escaping death because of a premonition she saw in advance.
Stefani comes to understand that her current family only exists because Iris cheated death on that day. Unfortunately, this places the current generation in Death’s crosshairs. As members of her family begin to fall victim to bizarre and gruesome accidents, Stefani seeks to uncover the truth and find a way to break the deadly cycle. As is the case for quite a few movies these days, shooting took place in Vancouver, Canada, or “North L.A.” as some have dubbed it.
Over the years, the critics have not been favorable towards the franchise. The highest-grossing picture in the series, THE FINAL DESTINATION in 2009, received awful Rotten Tomatoes scores of 28% from critics and only 35% from audiences. This time out, critics have flipped the script by giving it a very positive 93% score, with audiences coming in at 89%.
The Guardian praises the film as a triumphant return, highlighting its stylish storytelling and inventive death sequences. It commends the balance of nostalgic horror with innovative elements, noting the poignant final appearance of Tony Todd, who was a part of the first three films and passed away in 2024. AP News said the film is noted for transforming everyday items into sources of terror, delivering a mix of witty horror and elaborate death sequences.
The review appreciates the balance of gore with levity, awarding two-and-a-half stars out of four. Variety described the film as “clever, unpredictable and fun,” highlighting Tony Todd’s performance as a “tender tribute to the horror luminary and retroactive connective tissue between the franchise’s disparate chapters.”
Not everyone liked the film, as The Daily Beast criticized it for lacking internal logic and originality. It describes the movie as repetitive and cartoonish, with shallow performances and unremarkable death scenes. Its critic suggests that the franchise has run its course and should be concluded.
After an opening weekend of $51.0M domestic and $102M worldwide on a production budget of $50M, the film is well on its way to becoming the sixth consecutive FINAL DESTINATION film to turn a profit. The franchise enjoys a strong international following, with foreign markets generating 60% of the previous five films.
THE FINAL DESTINATION has already enjoyed the best opening of the series, and is on track to become the top producer of the six movies. The Daily Beast is almost certainly wrong to say that this will be the last movie in the series. And most likely, it will not take another 14 years to see Chapter 7. Here is how BLOODLINES compares to the franchise’s soon-to-be former box office champ.
FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES vs. THE FINAL DESTINATION
- FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES (5/16/2025) – Domestic Opening $51.0M (3,523 locations), Budget $50M, RT Critics/Audience 93%/89%
- THE FINAL DESTINATION (8/28/2009) – Domestic Opening $27.4M/$41.0M* (3,121 locations), Domestic Total $66.4M/$99.3M*, Worldwide Total $186.2M/$278.4M*, Budget $40M/$59.8M*, RT Critics/Audience 28%/35%
*2009 figures adjusted upwards to 2025 equivalent amounts
Disney’s THUNDERBOLTS*, the MCU anti-superheroes movie, dropped into second place in its third weekend, with $16.5M in the past three days, a decline of 49% from last weekend. This brings its 17-day total to $155.4M domestic and $325.7 worldwide.
The film continues to follow a similar track to THOR from 2011, and is already the 48th earning movie out of the 68 Marvel films to date. Its final tally is still unclear, as well as its fate as to whether it will wind up being profitable. Based on our analysis, we believe that it would need to earn $450M in worldwide box office to get into the black. Disney and Marvel have not yet announced a sequel to THUNDERBOLTS*, but the movie’s conclusion hints at the potential for future chapters.
At the end of THUNDERBOLTS*, the team is rebranded as “The New Avengers,” suggesting that the characters may have a role in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies. Notably, it has been confirmed that Florence Pugh’s character of Yelena Belova, will appear in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, the sequel to AVENGERS: ENDGAME that is slated for release on May 1, 2026.
Given Disney’s current strategy of limiting Marvel’s film output to not more than three movies per year, it’s uncertain whether a direct THUNDERBOLTS* sequel will make it into development. Nevertheless, the team’s role in the broader Avengers narrative should lead to more appearances.
THUNDERBOLTS* vs. THOR
- THUNDERBOLTS* (5/2/2025) – Domestic Opening $76.0M (4,330 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $33.1M (-55%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $16.5M (-49%), Domestic 17-day $155.4M, Budget $180M, RT Critics/Audience 88%/94%
- THOR (5/6/2011) – Domestic Opening $65.7M (3,955 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $34.7M (-47%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $15.5M (-56%), Domestic 17-day $145.4M, Domestic Total $181.0M, Worldwide Total $449.3M, Budget $150M, RT Critics/Audience 77%/76%
Warner Bros.’ horror film SINNERS fell to third place with three-day sales of $15.4M in its fifth weekend, a decline of only 30% from last weekend. Ryan Coogler’s film continues its amazing run with a 31-day total of $240.8M domestic and $316. 8M worldwide. It has already generated a 3.5 to 1 ratio of worldwide box office to production budget, making it quite a profitable effort for its backers.
SINNERS has become the top domestic-grossing horror film of the post-pandemic era and is climbing up the list of all-time box office earners for horror films, now sitting in third place. This week, it passed THE EXORCIST, which earned $231M beginning in 1973, and still ahead are JAWS with $274M domestic starting in 197,9 and IT with $329M domestic in 2017. Here is a comparison with IT, the top-producing domestic box office horror film ever.
SINNERS vs. IT
- SINNERS (4/25/2025) – Domestic Opening $48.0M (3,308 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $45.0M (-6%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $33.0M (-28%), Domestic 4th Weekend $21.1M (-36%), Domestic 5th Weekend $15.4M (-30%), Domestic 38-day $240.8M, Budget $90M, RT Critics/Audience 97%/96%
- IT (9/6/2017) – Domestic Opening $123.4M (4,103 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $60.1M (-51%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $29.8M (-51%), Domestic 4th Weekend $16.9M (-45%), Domestic 5th Weekend $10.0M (-41%), Domestic 31-day $305.3M, Domestic Total $328.9M, Worldwide Total $702.8M, Budget $35M, RT Critics/Audience 85%/84%
SINNERS made the most of its appearance at nine IMAX 70MM locations this weekend, earning $950K on those screens in the past three days. This works out to an amazing per-location average of $105K! It will continue to play on those screens through Wednesday, when it gives way to Tom Cruise and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING.
Finishing in fourth place was Warner Bros A MINECRAFT MOVIE, taking in an additional $5.9M this weekend, a drop of a mere 23% from last weekend. This also gives Warner Bros. the honor of being responsible for three out of the top four films of the weekend. MINECRAFT’s 45-day total stands at $416M domestic and $928.6M worldwide, making it by far the top-grossing movie of the year.
It has now passed BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, which earned $910.8M worldwide in 2018, to become the 75th highest-grossing movie of all time. While it will not reach the heights of THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, the 19th highest-grossing movie of all time, is already the second-highest-grossing movie based on a video game.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE vs. THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE
- A MINECRAFT MOVIE (4/4/2025) – Domestic Opening $162.8M (4,263 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $78.5M (-52%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $41.3M (-47%), Domestic 4th Weekend $22.7M (-44%), Domestic 5th Weekend $13.7M (-40%), Domestic 6th Weekend $8.0M (-42%), Domestic 7th Weekend $5.9M (-23%), Domestic 45-day $416.6M, Budget $150M, RT Critics/Audience 48%/86%
- THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (4/5/2023) – Domestic Opening $146.4 (4,343 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $92.3M (-37%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $59.9 (-35%), Domestic 4th Weekend $40.8M (-32%), Domestic 5th Weekend $18.6M (-55%), Domestic 6th Weekend $12.1M (-32%), Domestic 7th Weekend $9.6M (-24%), Domestic 47-day $574.9M, Domestic Total $574.9M, Worldwide Total $1.361B, Budget $100M, RT Critics/Audience 59%/95%
Amazon MGM’s action thriller THE ACCOUNTANT 2 finished in fifth place with $5.0M, a drop of 26% in its fourth weekend. This brings its 24-day total to $59.1M domestic. The year’s sequel is coming up just short of the original, despite having better reviews. On the bright side, it is now the third highest domestic-grossing film for Amazon/MGM, surpassing THE BOYS IN THE BOAT’s $53.4M from late 2023.
It has a chance to overtake the current second-highest-grossing movie from the studio, THE BEEKEEPER, which earned $66.2M in early 2024. On the other hand, it’s not going to catch the #1 title from Amazon/MGM, RED ONE, which earned $97.0M in late 2024. Because THE ACCOUNTANT 2 was relatively expensive to produce at $75M, it will need to bring back $188M in worldwide box office to break even.
At this point, we are predicting a worldwide total of $110M, which has not even come close to that number. However, the streamer will earn additional income when its movie gets to its next distribution step, most likely as a PVOD rental on a digital platform, followed by “free” to Amazon Prime subscribers. After factoring in all of these revenue streams, Amazon may come out on top for the project.
THE ACCOUNTANT 2 vs. THE ACCOUNTANT
- THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (4/25/2025 from Amazon MGM) – Domestic Opening $24.5M (3,610 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $9.5M (-61%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $6.1M (-36%), Domestic 4th Weekend $5.0M (-26%), Domestic 24-Day $59.0M, Budget $75M, RT Critics/Audience 76%/92%
- THE ACCOUNTANT (10/14/2016 from Warner Bros.) – Domestic Opening $24.7M (3,332 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $13.6M (-45%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $8.5M (-38%), Domestic 4th Weekend $5.9M (-31%), Domestic 24-Day $70.8M, Domestic Total $86.3M, Worldwide Total $155.6M, Budget $44M, RT Critics/Audience 53%/77%
Where Are We as of May 15th
After the 19th week of 2025, the domestic box office stands at 116% compared to 2024 and 66% compared to 2019.
