Huzzah for excellent original movies making some waves, as Sinners topped the North American box office this weekend a robust $45.6 million. The biggest domestic bow for an original live-action movie since COVID-19 shut down theaters, Sinners would’ve been an outstanding launch for an original live-action feature even before March 2020. Among 2018 releases, only A Quiet Place did better on opening weekend among fully original movies and that was a PG-13 title. Back in 2017, meanwhile, technically Dunkirk had the best domestic bow in this department ($50.5 million) since it was based on a historical event but not a book like Oppenheimer.
This is also a big win for Michael B. Jordan as a leading man, with this actor having few chances in the last decade (hi Just Mercy and A Journal for Jordan) to headline major theatrical star vehicles that aren’t Rocky spin-offs or Marvel Comics adaptations. Sinners, though, suggests headlining a trio of Creed movies and playing the most beloved modern Marvel villain has helped him solidify a great reputation with audiences. The same can be said for Sinners helmer Ryan Coogler, who might just be developing a Christopher Nolan-style brand name with moviegoers.
What's insane and so exciting here is that Sinners broke all "the rules" for how major modern Hollywood movies are supposed to operate. Pre-1970 period pieces are supposed to alienate audiences, yet folks showed up for droves for a feature set in 1932. In the pantheon of live-action non-Twilight vampire movies, hits are few and far in between. Flops like Dark Shadows and Dracula Untold are way more common. Yet, Sinners had no trouble scoring remarkable box office numbers. Between Sinners and Nosferatu, vampire movies are having a moment. Heck, R-rated horror that costs more than Blumhouse numbers shouldn't be this big unless it's an It movie. Yet Sinners is the number one movie in America.
How do you beat the odds liek that? Beyond riding the positive wave of Coogler and Jordan’s respective careers, Sinners flourished in theaters thanks to eye-catching marketing and promotional campaigns emphasizing IMAX and 70mm screenings that told audiences “this must be seen theatrically.” It didn’t hurt that people absolutely love this film, as seen by its A CinemaScore that’s utterly unheard of for horror fare. That could keep the feature around for the long haul. For the sake of more original quality cinema getting made in Hollywood, let’s all hope Sinners has a long path ahead of it.
Two final things about Sinners: the first is that Deadline reports that its opening day audience was 49% Black moviegoers and 63% combined Black and Latinx patrons. As The Los Angeles Times said last summer, Black and Latinx moviegoers keep saving theatrical cinema. Hollywood needs to gear even more of these titles towards these audiences instead of sweatily trying to insist that certain white actors are still box office draws. Deadline also reports that IMAX, premium-large-format, and 70mm showings made up 47% of Sinners' opening day gross. Audiences aren't just shelling out costly ticket prices for CG-laden superhero movies anymore. Something that looks appealing on the big screen will get people into these special screenings (Civil War's heavy IMAX numbers also reflected this). Do more 70mm films, Hollywood!
Oh look, a free iPad. And also the second-biggest movie in America this weekend, A Minecraft Movie. Grossing another $41.3 million this weekend, Minecraft fell 47% from last weekend. Literally the only complaint one can have about this video game adaptation is that its legs are clearly not as exemplary as Wicked's or Barbie's. The latter Warner Bros. title had significantly better weekend hauls despite opening in the summertime when folks could see it during the week. Otherwise, though, A Minecraft Movie's 17-day domestic total of $344.6 million is nothing short of staggering. Sometime this week, it'll become the first live-action video game movie in history to crack $350 million domestically. Minecraft will also soon become Jack Black's biggest live-action movie domestically. On top of all that, Minecraft is on track to clear $1+ billion worldwide. With Sinners and Minecraft, Warner Bros. had the two biggest movies in America this weekend. What an impressive feat for the studio, whose summer slate of Final Destination: Bloodlines, Weapons, and Superman looks very promising.
Thanks to it being tied so directly into Easter (it's about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ after all), The King of Kings had an outstanding 11% dip this frame. Grossing another $17.27 million for a $45.33 million domestic total. Also in its second weekend was The Amateur, which fell 51% to gross an additional $7.2 million for a $27.3 million domestic total. Warfare held solidly this frame, that A- CinemaScore must be doing the Lord’s work keeping people coming to the theater. Grossing another $4.85 million, Warfare only dropped 42% from last weekend (32% when excluding its $1.16 million Thursday night grosses). If it can secure one more good weekend-to-weekend hold next frame, it's unquestionably getting past $20 million.
Drop couldn't rebound from its dismal opening weekend, as it fell 55% to gross another $3.35 million for a $13.48 million 10-day frame. Look for this one's domestic total to close out just beneath $20 million. Pride & Prejudice continued the recent hot streak of theatrical re-releases by grossing a robust $2.8 million from 1,393 theaters this frame. This features now grossed $41 million in its lifetime domestic haul. COLORFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing harmonized $2.76 million from 800 theaters (for a $3,460 per theater average) this weekend. That's one of the strongest opening weekends ever for a GKIDS title. Heck, it's already the fourth biggest GKIDS release ever domestically after only three days.
The Chosen: Last Supper — Part 3 fell 72% from its opening weekend this frame to gross another $1.68 million and an $11.06 million domestic total. For the record, Part's 2 and 1 of this saga have now grossed $12.17 million and $20.02 million in North America. Snow White had another steep tumble this frame as it collapsed 60% to gross a meager $1.17 million for an $84.56 million domestic total. Right outside the top ten was A Working Man, which fell 61% this frame to gross another $1.16 million for a $35.88 million domestic total. The Wedding Banquet could only muster a $922,906 debut this weekend from 1,142 theaters for an $808 per theater average. That's better than the sub-$350,000 wide release bows of other Bleecker Street films, but what a low bar to clear. This is such a charming rom-com,
Mini-distributor Open Road Films got a surprise hit with January 2014 animated film The Nut Job. After that, the studio failed to launch further animated film hits, including The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature. Open Road’s successor studio, Biraricliff Entertainment, continued that tradition with the absolutely terrible launch of Sneaks in 1,500 theaters this frame. This title only grossed $675,000 this weekend for an atrocious $450 per theater average. Of course this movie bombed. What kid would go see Sneaks when A Minecraft Movie was available? Plus, the trailers made it look a like a parody of a Toy Story rip-off from a Family Guy cutaway gag. Briarcliff’s dismal box office track record was alive and well this frame as Sneaks secured a bow only $164,000 better than Delgo’s infamous December 2008 launch.
The Ballad of Wallis Island expanded into 423 theaters this weekend but could only muster up $259,795 for an underwhelming $614 per theater average. Genuine props to distributor Focus Features for giving this a proper gradual theatrical roll-out. Sometimes, certain indie films just don’t connect with audiences. Wallis Island’s domestic gross now stands at $1.16 million. The Ugly Stepsister opened in 501 locations this weekend yet only grossed $175,000 on opening weekend, a terrible bow for an artsy foreign langauge release that should've had a more concentrated long-term rollout. A Nice Indian Boy had another fine hold this weekend, easing 37% to gross another $99,300 from 67 theaters for a $1,483 per theater average. Its domestic total now stands at $580,343. Can it get past $1+ million domestically? Probably not, just because distirbutor Blue Harbor Entertainment can't expand its theater count. Still, these are great numbers for a film that never played in more than 81 locations. Sacramento fell a harsh 70% this weekend to gross another $93,000 for a $571,361 domestic total.
The Legend of Ochi opened in four theaters this frame and grossed $52,514 for a $13,129 per theater average. A24's first big stab at family-friendly cinema expands to theaters everywhere Friday. The Shrouds opened in three locations this weekend and grossed $52,100 for a $17,367 per theater average. Distributor Janus Films is bringing this one into hundreds of locations Friday.
The top ten movies this weekend grossed $126 million. Though not a record-shattering sum like April 2025's kick-off frame, that's still a mighty sum beating out past Easter weekends like April 18-20, 2014 and April 22-24, 2011. It's also above all April 2022 frames and above half of April 2023's frames. Not too shabby stuff, especially given how this year wasn't so long ago plagued by six consecutive domestic weekends falling beneath $70 million. What a difference a few hit movies in the marketplace can make, good gravy.
So far, April 2025 has grossed roughly $620 million, putting it above the entire domestic totals of April's 2024, 2022, and 2007 even with 12 more days to go in the month. Next weekend will be quieter since I don't think any single movie will gross $30+ million, but The Accountant 2 and the Revenge of the Sith’s re-release are poised to do solid business over the month’s final days. This month should exceed $800 million domestically, which would make it only the fifth April in history to crack $800+ million domestically. That means April 2025 will more than double March 2025's $397.68 million domestic total. When the movies click with people and there’s plenty of them in theaters, the marketplace just thrives. Now let’s see if April 2025 can close out on a high note after A Minecraft Movie and Sinners scored such strong bows.