Sinners a winner, Sith slays, Accountant crunches numbers, Until Dawn snoozes at the box office

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Interestingly, it was during the February 10-12, 2012 weekend, when The Phantom Menace 3D premiered in multiplexes, that I discovered an unusual fact: It’s not often that four or more movies earn $20+ million simultaneously over a single weekend. That specific weekend saw The Vow, Safe House, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, and The Phantom Menace 3D all debuting with $20+ million three-day earnings according to Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo. He stated that this was only the second time in history that four new wide releases had opened to such high grosses over a weekend.

Over the weekend, we didn’t see four fresh faces raking in over $20 million each, but nonetheless, four films managed to reach that significant box office threshold. This is a very promising sign for the industry, suggesting that it’s not just one movie monopolizing the attention. Interestingly, despite this, the top-grossing film in America, Sinners, has now solidified its status as a full-blown cultural sensation.

Following an extraordinary debut for an original R-rated horror film, Sinners, which set one of the best opening records in its category, experienced a surprising 6% decrease this weekend, earning another $45 million. Excluding its Thursday night grosses of $4.7 million from the previous week, Sinners actually made more in its second weekend than during its debut. In terms of all films that opened in over 3,000 theaters, Sinners‘ second-weekend hold ranks as the 31st best in history. However, among movies that didn’t premiere in November or December, Sinners had the FIFTH smallest decline in its second weekend for a film playing in over 3,000 theaters. The drops experienced by two of the four films with smaller declines (Mother’s Day and Heart Eyes) were due to their connection to specific holidays, which Sinners did not have. This drop is a testament to the quality of Sinners, rather than audiences waiting for a specific holiday to see it. Such box office performance is the kind of endurance that movie studio executives aspire to achieve.

The movie “Sinners” has now earned over $122.5 million in North America and is expected to surpass $200 million domestically. This achievement makes it the first original live-action film since “Gravity” (in 2013) to reach this milestone in its initial release within North America, in terms of box office earnings. Additionally, only five horror films (with a few exceptions like “I Am Legend”) have ever managed to gross over $200 million domestically, and “Sinners” is now among them. This outstanding box office success for “Sinners” is a testament to the hard work of Ryan Coogler and his team, and it serves as a positive indication that audiences are still eager to watch original films in cinemas.

20 years after its initial release, I found myself once again captivated by the Force as I watched the re-release of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.” In this domestic relaunch, it managed to gross an impressive $25.2 million, ranking second only to “The Lion King 3D’s” September 2011 debut of $30 million among 21st-century theatrical re-releases. Interestingly, it outperformed the February 2012 launch of “The Phantom Menace 3D.

In the U.S., the movie “Revenge of the Sith” has amassed a total of $405.4 million over its two theatrical releases. Once ridiculed by the general public, the Star Wars prequels have found new respect among younger Star Wars enthusiasts, which likely boosted the film’s box office performance this week. Disney, any chance you could bring back those ’80s Ewok TV movies to theaters? I’d love to see Wilford Brimley on an IMAX screen!

As a cinephile looking back nine years, I can’t help but feel a rush of excitement as The Accountant 2, the long-awaited sequel to the most rented DVD of 2017 (no joke!), finally hits the big screen. Kicking off with a powerful $24.49 million, it’s right on track with its predecessor’s $24.7 million debut. With an $80 million budget, profitability might take some time, but the anticipation is certainly worth it.

Now, I suspect that this hefty cost is due to the film being originally intended for streaming platforms. It’s a pattern we’re seeing more of these days, and it seems Amazon MGM Studios is carving out quite a niche for itself in the action-oriented dad movie genre. With Reacher and Cross already hitting it big on their streaming service, this could very well be their specialty. It’s a promising start to the weekend for Amazon MGM Studios, and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store!

The “Minecraft” movie experienced a 44% drop in earnings this weekend, bringing in an additional $22.7 million, totaling $379.96 million domestically. The only criticism one might level at its box office performance is that it’s behaving more like a typical PG-13 superhero film rather than a family-friendly hit akin to “The LEGO Movie.” However, the success of this film at the box office is nothing short of astounding. With its continued earnings, “Minecraft” is poised to surpass “Wonder Woman’s” $412 million domestic gross and become the fourth-highest grossing Warner Bros. movie ever, trailing only behind “Barbie” and the two “Dark Knight” sequels. This is an incredible achievement for the live-action video game film genre.

Additionally, Minecraft helped secure a successful weekend for four films grossing over $20 million each. Yet, it’s important to note that these blockbusters were not the only movies available. In fact, another significant new wide release is worth discussing as well…

Over an exceptionally profitable weekend for movies, particularly live-action video game adaptations and R-rated horror films, it’s evident that Until Dawn struggled to connect due to its relatively unknown brand name and underwhelming marketing campaign. The sudden popularity of Sinners as the latest horror sensation didn’t aid Until Dawn‘s cause either, but it’s worth noting that Truth or Dare, which opened a week after A Quiet Place seven years ago, demonstrated that multiple horror films can coexist and prosper in the market. At least the production cost of Until Dawn, like all Sony/Screen Gems productions, was relatively low at $15 million.

Over the past weekend, “The King of Kings” didn’t see a resurgence at the domestic box office since Easter has passed. The faith-based animated film experienced a significant drop of 77%, earning an additional $4.01 million. Despite this substantial decrease, its total domestic earnings have reached an impressive $54.5 million, so there are no complaints coming from Angel Studios.

On the other hand, “The Amateur” declined by 46% in its third domestic release, raking in another $3.8 million. With a total of $33.85 million earned after 17 days, it’s safe to say that this film is doing well.

Lastly, also in its third week was “Warfare,” which dropped by 45% and grossed an additional $2.64 million. Now, with a total of $21.8 million, it has become one of the rare A24 releases to surpass the $20+ million mark domestically.

This weekend, it wasn’t just “Revenge of the Sith” that shone in the theaters. The 1972 concert film titled “Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii” also performed exceptionally well, earning $2.62 million from 678 screens. It seems many cinemas limited showings to once a day, making this figure even more impressive. Isn’t it amazing that a movie from 1972 is among the top-grossing films in America today, alongside blockbuster R-rated horror movies, children’s films, and more? This just goes to show the diverse range of films currently available, which undoubtedly contributes to the strong box office performance. It’s simple: when there’s a variety of movies to choose from, audiences flock to the theaters.

As a movie enthusiast, I eagerly anticipated the release of “The Legend of Ochi” over these past three and a half years. Disappointingly, it only managed to rake in $1.44 million from 1,100 cinemas this weekend, which isn’t great considering it was one of the worst box office debuts for a film opening in more than 1,000 locations in 2025. Being an uncommon PG-rated movie distributed by A24, “Ochi” didn’t quite catch on with critics enough to become a cult hit among adults, while kids were more captivated by the charm of other family-friendly titles like “Minecraft” and “Kings.” Hopefully, the sales of “Ochi” merchandise will be brisk to help cover the film’s $10 million budget.

This weekend, the movie dropped approximately 1,216 theaters and saw a 71% decline, earning an additional $950,000. With this performance, it’s unlikely to reach a $20+ million domestic total. On the other hand, the re-release of “Pride & Prejudice” experienced a significant 78% drop and grossed another $610,000. Despite the decline, the film has already generated an impressive $5.4 million from its 2025 screenings, and a total of $44.08 million throughout its domestic run.

Over the weekend, “On Swift Horses” earned a modest $606,000 across 755 cinemas, averaging around $803 per theater. While it’s not their best opening for a wide release in the past year, it’s still better than some other releases. With the success of films like “Becoming Led Zeppelin” and “I’m Still Here,” Sony Pictures Classics has already grossed close to $23 million this year. If one more film brings in around $3-4 million, Sony Pictures Classics will surpass $30 million domestically for the first time since 2018. This kind of potential outcome helps soften the blow of a misfire like “On Swift Horses.

I had the privilege of being part of the team that extended Janus Films’ release of David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds” to 279 cinemas, hoping for impressive results. However, the film managed to gross only $302,600, averaging $1,085 per theater. In the U.S., “The Shrouds” has earned a total of $368,595 so far. Unfortunately, in its second week, “The Wedding Banquet” saw a 70% drop and grossed an additional $272,386, bringing its domestic total to $1.65 million. This weekend, “Magic Farm” made its debut in limited release, earning $19,479 from a single theater. “Blue Sun Palace” premiered in five locations, taking home $11,881, averaging $2,376 per theater. Lastly, “April” opened in two theaters, earning $11,200 and averaging $5,600 per theater.

Over the past weekend, the top ten films raked in an impressive $139 million, setting a record that surpassed every April weekend in 2025 by a significant margin. To put this into perspective, just five years ago, during the same timeframe, the top ten movies could only muster around $80.79 million and $96.93 million in 2017 and 2016 respectively. This remarkable increase is due to the release of numerous new films, as I’ve been predicting for quite some time now. The market can indeed accommodate a plethora of hits, and this weekend serves as a shining example of that very concept.

By the end of April 2025, the film has earned approximately $828 million, ranking it as the fourth highest-grossing April in North America (without inflation adjustment). With only three days remaining in the month, it’s expected to surpass $845 million. This month’s earnings have more than doubled March 2025’s take of $397.68 million, offering a significant boost to the 2025 domestic box office. The good news is that this marks the end of the spring season. Summer 2025 kicks off next week, bringing a wave of new wide releases ready to rake in substantial profits.

If everything proceeds smoothly over the next few months, movie theaters can anticipate a consistent influx of vitality and vigor. Indeed, April 2025 offers an optimistic outlook for the near-term survival of cinema-going experiences.

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2025-04-28 18:15