411 Box Office Report: Sinners Clips A Minecraft Movie To Take Top Spot

It was a battle of vampires and creepers at the box office this weekend, with Sinners getting the win over A Minecraft Movie. Ryan Coogler’s period horror film claimed the top spot for the weekend with $45.6 million, beating expectations of $40 million coming into the weekend. That’s a win for original filmmaking and for horror, marking the best non-Black Panther start for Coogler to date and Jordan’s best opening weekend Black Panther and Creed III.

Sinners saw its fortunes rise high over the last couple of weeks. The film was originally tracking for a mid-$30 million range, but this is an example where positive critical buzz and a strong marketing push sent it soaring. Warner Bros. rode the back of a phenomenal 98% Rotten Tomatoes aggregated average among critics to great effect in the final marketing push; they knew what they had and had the first critic screenings almost two weeks ago.

And this isn’t just a movie for the critics; audiences love it too. Sinners has an A CinemaScore, an unheard-of rating for R-rated horror movies. When I say “unheard” I mean that literally; it is the first R-rated horror film ever to get an A, and the first of any MPAA rating since Poltergeist to do so. The RT audience rating agrees with a 97%, which all means that this film is likely to have very good word of mouth.

In fairness, this is a film that will need its good word of mouth. Warner Bros. took a massive swing on this film, giving it a $90 million production budget which is a hefty cost for an R-rated period Southern gothic horror film. But the studio has been trying to retain big-name directors since Christopher Nolan exited to Universal where he made Oppenheimer, so they were happy to take the gamble here.

For now, the gamble seems to have paid off. It’s still early, but the word of mouth is likely to help it out here – the fact that walk-up business on Saturday was strong bears that out — and the international numbers should help. Right now, it has $15.4 million in select markets for a $61 million worldwide start, and domestically it seems likely to pass $140 million and perhaps even higher.

A Minecraft Movie may have ceded the top spot, but it still performed well in its third weekend with $41.3 million. That’s off just 47%, another good number for a film that continues to surpass expectations. The video game adaptation is now up to $344.6 million domestically and $720.8 million worldwide, a megahit against its $150 million budget, and is now looking likely to go as high as $450 million by the end of its US run. Suffice it to say that between this and Sinners, Warner Bros. is feeling pretty good about its 2025 theatrical performance lately.

Easter Sunday was good for faith-based movies this weekend, most specifically The King of Kings. The animated film was down just 11% from its stronger-than-expected start last frame to bring in $17.3 million for this weekend. That’s a fantastic hold, made possible thanks to the very strong word of mouth and the holiday. The film is now at $45.3 million domestically and $45.9 million worldwide, making it Angel Studios’ second biggest hit behind only The Sound of Freedom. It is likely to have a stronger fall next weekend with Easter having passed but as it stands it could easily top $70 million and perhaps higher. No word on the budget but this will be a big hit.

The Amateur had an okay hold, though it still has a somewhat uphill climb to profit. 20th Century Studios’ action-thriller brought in $7.2 million, down 51% from last weekend’s start, which gives it the typical action trajectory. The film has $27.3 million in the US but is performing better overseas with $37 million to give it $64.3 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. It is probably going to end its stateside run at around $40 million to $45 million and will hinge on overseas holds to determine if it will eke past the profit line.

A24’s Warfare flew also had an okay hold as it was down 42% in its second weekend with $4.9 million. The war film has $13.2 million in the US and $13.3 million worldwide, making it a stretch to be profitable in theaters though it’s following the A24 model of making enough there so that it can find its profit in premium VOD. It should end off with around $22 million in the US.

Drop slipped 55% in its second weekend to tally up $3.4 million. That’s a drop on par with its genre and the film is in a bit better shape than its fellow mid-chart films due to its budget of just $11 million. It has $13.5 million domestically and $20.6 million worldwide and is aiming for a final US total of $18 million to $20 million. That’s good enough for Universal and Blumhouse.

Coming in at #8 was GKIDS’ latest anime theatrical release in COLORFUL STAGE! The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing. The musical drama, which is based on the rhythm mobile game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, took in $2.8 million.

That’s a solid result for a lower-profile anime film that hasn’t even garnered many reviews, much less marketing. Audiences are loving it with a 96% RT audience rating, which is helping its buzz among the anime community. As usual, GKIDS’ theatrical releases in the US are largely icing on the cake; it has added $7.7 million overseas for $10.5 million worldwide. It will vanish from the domestic charts quickly but is probably going to be a success for the studio.

Focus Features re-released Pride & Prejudice for its 20th anniversary, and it came in at a very respectable #8 with $2.7 million. The Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen adaptation of the classic novel pushed its lifetime grosses to $41.3 million in the US and $129.4 million worldwide.

The Chosen: Last Supper’s third and final theatrical part suffered an expected fall as it lost most of its theaters, as is typical for the Fathom Events releases. The film was off 72% to $1.7 million. As always, the Chosen films mostly hit theaters so they can get a little extra revenue and advertise for their TV releases. Last Supper: Part Three has $11.1 million at this point and that’s a success.

Snow White continues to fade out as it dropped 60% in its fifth weekend to $1.1 million. The live-action film is at $84.6 million domestically and $184.9 million worldwide against a $270 million budget, making it quite the flop. It is looking at just under $90 million stateside.

Next weekend cold see Minecraft retake #1 as Sinners will be hit harder by the new arrivals. Those include the action-thriller The Accountant 2, which is looking at around $20 million to $25 million and has a shot at #1, and Screen Gems’ horror film Until Dawn which is hoping for $10 million. The 20th anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith will be looking at the high teens range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Sinners – $45.6 million ($45.6 million total, $61 million WW)
2. A Minecraft Movie – $41.3 million ($344.6 million total, $720.8 million WW)
3. The King of Kings – $17.3 million ($45.3 million total, $45.9 million WW)
4. The Amateur – $7.2 million ($27.3 million total, $64.3 million WW)
5. Warfare – $4.9 million ($13.2 million total, $13.3 million WW)
6. Drop – $3.4 million ($13.5 million total, $20.2 million WW)
7. Colorful Stage: The Movie: A Miku Who Can’t Sing – $2.8 million ($2.8 million total, $10.5 million WW)
8. Pride & Prejudice – $2.7 million ($41.3 million domestically, $129.4 million WW)
9. The Chosen: Last Supper Part 3 – $1.7 million ($11.1 million total, $11.1 million WW)
10. Snow White – $1.1 million ($84.6 million total, $184.9 million WW)