It looks like our box office predictions for the weekend ended up coming true after all. In a surprise reversal, Sinners, which looked like it was going to have to settle for a second-place debut at the Easter box office, rallied thanks to performing stronger-than-expected on Saturday evening. As it stands, Ryan Coogler’s vampire pic will dominate the weekend box office, with a $45.6 million gross compared to A Minecraft Movie’s still potent $41 million (in its third weekend). Boasting an amazing A CinemaScore rating, word of mouth may well propel Sinners to a stateside finish north of $100 million. Notably, this is the first time a horror film has ever gotten such a strong rating, with only movies like A Quiet Place 1 & 2 managing anything north of a B in the last decade. However, it will likely be up to foreign gross to see if the film ultimately turns a profit theatrically (the $100 million budget is seen as risky for a horror film).
Whatever the case, Warner Bros can claim the two top spots this weekend, with A Minecraft Movie passing $344 million in its third week of release, making it the runaway smash hit of the year (so far). Another studio that has some bragging rights is Angel Studios, whose animated movie about Jesus, King Of Kings, only fell a mere 11% in week two to post a $17.2 million weekend, with a total north of $45 million. It’s already the studio’s second top-grossing movie behind their smash hit Sound of Freedom.
The Rami Malek thriller, The Amateur, also held up decently, only losing 51% of its audience in week 2 to make $7.2 million, with a $27 million total. While a finish in the $40 million region is nothing to brag about, those are still decent numbers for a low key thriller, with it not too far off from the kinds of grossing routinely pulled in by Jason Statham (although it’s unlikely Malek’s film will have the same kind of international pull Statham’s has).
Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare rounded out the top five with $4.85 million and a $17.1 million gross, which is mediocre for such a well-reviewed film. A24 has struggled at the box office this year, but hopefully, movies like Friendship and Bring Her Back, which seem more old-school in their appeal, will help them rally.
Meanwhile, the really solid Blumhouse title Drop has proven to be a flop, with it only grossing $3.35 million for a $13.4 million total, making it a rare misfire commercially for the company. The rest of the top ten is largely filled with specialty releases. The anime musical, Colorful Stage made $2.76 million, while the re-release of Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice wasn’t far behind with $2.7 million. Finally, the last round of The Chosen Last Supper episodes was in ninth place with $1.8 million and a $11.6 million total. Finally, Disney’s ultra-flop, Snow White, rounded out the top ten with only $1.17 million and an $84 million total, which is disastrous for a movie that cost over $250 million.
Next weekend sees the release of The Accountant 2. Will it be able to nab the top spot from Sinners and A Minecraft Movie? Let us know in the comments!
