In a somewhat rare occurrence, one studio was behind the top two films at the weekend box office. Warner Bros. is delighted by the audience response to its new action horror movie, SINNERS, which earned the top spot in its opening weekend.
This was followed closely by a strong second-place finish for A MINECRAFT MOVIE in its third weekend. The last instance of a studio having the top two movies in the same weekend was last year from August 30th – September 1st, when Disney led with DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE in its sixth weekend and ALIEN ROMULUS in its third.
The total box office for all movies on this Easter holiday weekend was $135.0M, which was more than double than the $65.8M earned last year when A24’s action thriller CIVIL WAR earned $ 11.2 M4 to finish first for the second consecutive weekend. After a disappointing stretch at the end of the first quarter, all three weekends in the second quarter have finished well above their matching weekends from 2024.
This run of success is likely to continue next weekend, when a strong slate will be comparted to a relatively weak performance last year, which generated only $64.1M in box office led by Amazon/MGM’s tennis-theme movie CHALLENGERS which opened with $15.2M. By contrast, next weekend will see continued sales from SINNERS (weekend #2) and A MINECRAFT MOVIE (weekend #4) as well as three new wide releases, most notably Amazon/MGM’s action flick THE ACCOUNTANT 2.
Warner Bros.’ new action horror movie, SINNERS, finished first by earning $45.6M this weekend. The movie is directed by A-list director Ryan Coogler, who also wrote the screenplay. SINNERS is his first completely original screenplay for the 38-year-old filmmaker, who is best known for his work on established franchise movies that include the two Marvel’s BLACK PANTHER movies and Warner Bros.’ three CREED movies spun out of the classic Rocky series.
SINNERS is set in 1932 in a black community in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the era of Jim Crow segregation laws. It tells the story of twin brothers who come back to their hometown to leave behind their worldly struggles, only to find a malevolent supernatural force waiting for them.
The film stars Michael B. Jordan (CREED I, II, and III from 2015-2023 and BLACK PANTHER and BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER from 2018 and 2022), who portrays both the brothers, Smoke and Stack, utilizing distinct mannerisms and voices to differentiate between the two. Hailey Steinfeld (BUMBLEBEE from 2018) plays Mary, a complex character navigating identity, love, and power.
Delta blues music is a central component of the film’s atmosphere, reflecting Coogler’s taste and adding to the cultural authenticity of the film. Interestingly, Warner Bros. swapped the originally planned release dates for MICKEY 17 and SINNERS, shifting MICKEY 17 up to March 7th and delaying SINNERS until April 18th. This came at Coogler’s request, to give him an additional six weeks to work on his film so that it would meet his high standards.
Coogler seems to have made the most of this extra time, as virtually everyone who has seen the film has praised it. It holds the year’s best Rotten Tomatoes scores for a wide release, with a 98% grade from critics and 97% from audiences. The AP lauds its ambitious blend of genres, noting that Coogler delivers “both jump scares and poignant moments.” Michael B. Jordan’s dual performance is deemed powerful, and the supporting cast, including Hailee Steinfeld and Delroy Lindo, is commended for enhancing the film’s emotional depth.
Amy Nicholson of the Los Angeles Times describes SINNERS as “gory and glorious,” highlighting Ludwig Göransson’s phenomenal score that layers fiddles over doom metal. She notes that the music feels both novel and deeply rooted in cultural memory.
Legendary filmmaker Spike Lee shared his enthusiasm on social media, calling SINNERS his “greatest experience of watching a film in years.” He praised Coogler’s storytelling, Jordan’s performance, and the film’s cinematography, production design, and score, emphasizing its embodiment of “Black cinematic power.”
The movie’s production budget is estimated at $90M, which would multiply out to a total worldwide box office of $225M in order to break even. Its fabulous North American opening of $45.6M and great reviews put it on a good track to be successful. However, a movie focused on the historical experience of black characters in America may have limited appeal in international markets, and force domestic sales to carry the picture.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE sold $41.3M in new tickets over the last three days, a drop of 47% from last weekend’s total of $ 78.5 M. In its first 17 days, the mayhem-inducing, live-action romp based on the best-selling video game has earned $334.6M domestic and $720.8M worldwide. Here is how A MINECRAFT MOVIE compares to the similarly successful THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE from two years ago.
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 17-day $344.6M, Budget $150M, RT Critics/Audience 47%/87%
- 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 19-day $436.0M, Domestic Total $574.9M, Worldwide Total $1.361B, Budget $100M, RT Critics/Audience 59%/95%
Using the magic 2.5 to 1 ratio of production budget to worldwide box office for a movie to reach profitability, A MINECRAFT MOVIE with its $150 budget would need to earn $375M to get there. It already blew past that number last weekend and stands currently at an impressive 4.8 to 1 ratio of box office to budget. We expect it to earn around $400M in domestic sales and $833M worldwide, which would give it a very profitable 5.6 to 1 ratio.
Angel Studios‘ animated biblical story THE KING OF KINGS finished in third place with $17.3M, a decline of only 11% from last weekend’s opening. Its 10-day earnings are $45.3M domestic. The Mofac Animation production has taken full advantage of Angel Studios’ distribution prowess and its million-member super fan community known as the Angel Guild.
With a well-timed release on the weekend before Easter, it was always expected that THE KING OF KINGS would do well in its second weekend, and it did just that. It appears to be on track to become the second-highest-grossing film in Angel Studios’ 10-year history. Here’s a comparison with Angel’s #1 movie of all time, SOUND OF FREEDOM:
- THE KING OF KINGS (4/11/25) – Domestic Opening $19.4M (3,200 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $17.3M (-11%), Domestic 10-day $45.3M, Budget $15M, RT Critics/Audience 65%/98%
- SOUND OF FREEDOM (7/4/23) – Domestic Opening $19.7M (2,634 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $27.2M (-XX%), Domestic 13-day $85.8M, Domestic Total $184.2M, Worldwide Total $285.2M, Budget $14.5M, RT Critics/Audience 57%/99%
While THE KING OF KINGS won’t catch SOUND OF FREEDOM, its undeniable success will enhance Angel Studios’ reputation as a consistent contributor of movies that appeal to its loyal, and relatively underserved audience.
In fourth place was 20th Century Studios’ action thriller THE AMATEUR that earned $7.2M in its second weekend, a decline of 51%. This brings its 10-day total to $27.3M domestic and $64.3 M worldwide. This “respectable hold” from its opening weekend performance is due to its solid reviews with an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the positive impact of playing over the holiday weekend.
The film is also doing well in international markets, which account for 57% of the movie’s total gross. However, it still has a way to go to reach profitability, needing $150M in worldwide ticket sales. There will be no more long weekends to help it, with the next one coming in 5 weeks over Memorial Day.
A24’s Iraqi war film WARFARE landed in fifth place with $4.9M in its second weekend, a decline of 42%. This brings its 10-day totals to $17.1M domestic. Last week, we raised the question of whether there would be much of an appetite outside the U.S. to see an American war film. WARFARE is not doing well internationally, despite solid Rotten Tomatoes scores of 94% from critics and 93% from audiences.
This weekend’s drop of 41% is higher than A24 had hoped for, as it will need to reach $50M in total ticket sales to be profitable. However, it does happen that a good war movie can hold onto its audience over time, and it’s too soon to write off this well-crafted film.
Where Are We as of 4/17/2025
After the 15th week of 2025, the domestic box office stands at 103% compared to 2024 and 69% compared to 2019.
