Weekend Box Office: Sinners has an incredible hold in week 2; Sith beats The Accountant 2

Can you hear that? POP! That’s the sound of champagne corks popping at Warner Bros in Burbank this morning. While last weekend’s $48 million opening for Sinners was viewed as solid, many in the industry wondered whether or not, with a soft international launch, the movie was poised to turn a profit. This weekend, the resounding answer is hell yes, with the film only dipping 6% in week 2 for a $45 million weekend, and a $122 million total. The A CinemaScore rating proves that word-of-mouth on Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic is terrific, with the movie looking like a shoo-in for a domestic total well north of $200 million. That’s a stunning number for an R-rated horror flick, although it seems to be playing more like an action blockbuster than anything else. Clearly, this will make WB a whole boatload of cash and only further enhance Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan’s reputations as two of the biggest up-and-coming names in the biz.

Meanwhile, the second-place battle was tight, with the re-release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith narrowly beating The Accountant 2. Sith made $25.2 million compared to The Accountant 2’s $24.4 million (slightly better than we predicted). Indeed, that’s a giant number for the Sith re-release, with it only having a limited one-week run as Disney likely doesn’t want anything competing with Thunderbolts next weekend. With an A-minus CinemaScore rating, the hope is that The Accountant 2 will rally in week two, as the opening is a little soft, although (not adjusted for inflation) it’s almost exactly what the first movie made nine years ago.

A Minecraft Movie, by far the year’s highest-grossing movie, added another $22.7 million to the till, boasting a huge $379 million domestic gross. Another video game adaptation out this weekend, Sony’s Until Dawn, didn’t fare nearly as well, only making $8 million. Given the low $7 million budget, it’s unlikely to spill too much red ink for the studio, but I’m sure they’re disappointed as the film likely had franchise potential.

Angel Studio’s King of Kings, their animated retelling of the life of Christ, fell 77% this weekend, which isn’t a surprise as the film’s box office was hugely boosted by the Easter holiday last weekend. With a $54 million domestic gross, it’s still Angel’s second biggest movie ever, after Sound of Freedom, and a much-needed box office win for them. 20th Century Studios’s Rami Malek thriller, The Amateur, made $3.8 million for a $33.8 million domestic haul. While that’s only a modest stateside number, international business on this one has been brisk, likely to pass $100 million internationally. But the time it hits Hulu, it should break even for the studio, which Disney owns. 

Sadly, A24’s terrible 2025 is only getting worse. Their terrific Warfare only made $2.6 million for a modest $21.8 million total (only a third of what director Alex Garland’s Civil War made last year). At the same time, their family adventure movie, The Legend of Oshi, tanked with a terrible $1.4 million this weekend. Between that, Opus, and Death of a Unicorn, the studio really needs a hit, although I think their film Friendship, which I loved at TIFF, could be a cult hit in the waiting. 

Finally, ninth place belonged to the restored Pink Floyd at Pompeii concert film from 1971, which made a terrific $2.6 million. Between this and Sith, it’s clear that specialty releases are something studios should focus on a lot more. Heck, it seems inevitable that Disney puts out some more Star Wars this year. Ya know, it’s The Empire Strikes Back’s 45th anniversary this year. Just sayin’….

The post Weekend Box Office: Sinners has an incredible hold in week 2; Sith beats The Accountant 2 appeared first on JoBlo.