Warner Bros./Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie has extended its rule over North American box office in the second weekend thanks to an estimated $80
Warner Bros./Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie has extended its rule over North American box office in the second weekend thanks to an estimated $80.6m that boosted the running total to $281m.
The mighty second weekend produced the highest sophomore session by a video game adaptation behind only The Super Mario Bros. Movie on $92.3m almost exactly two years ago. It also helped swing box office into a slender 0.58% year-to-date lead over 2024 after it had fallen approximately 13% behind by the start of April.
The family smash plays in 4,289 locations and dropped a decent 50%. Screen will report in more detail on the $550m global box office on Monday.
In North America A Minecraft Movie has consolidated its status as the highest-grossing release of the year, well ahead of Captain America: Brave New World on $199.7m after eight weekends. How high can it go? Last week Screen sources speculated $750m worldwide, although at least one report on Sunday was projecting $1bn.
Studio executives expect A Minecraft Movie to play well into another week of spring break for schoolchildren heading into the Easter weekend. Some exhibitors have embraced the well-documented raucous response that has seen police called to shows where audiences threw popcorn at the screen and cheer and dance in their seats. Cineworld-owned Regal Cinemas is leaning in, encouraging patrons to dress up as their favourite character from the Mojang Studios video game for an April 20 Chicken Jockey screening.
Angel Studios’ The King Of Kings opened in second place on $19.1m in 3,200 for the biggest debut by a faith-based animation – higher than the unadjusted $14.5m set by DreamWorks Animation’s The Prince Of Egypt in 1998 – and the company’s second-highest opening behind Sound Of Freedom’s $19.7m in July 2023.
Inspired by Charles Dickens’s book The Life Of Our Lord, the film tells of a boy who learns the story of Jesus through his father. Kenneth Branagh leads a voice cast that includes Uma Thurman, Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Oscar Isaac, and Forest Whitaker.
“The Angel Guild picks winners,” said Brandon Purdie, global head of theatrical distribution & brand development, referring to the community of hundreds of thousands who vote on the projects they want to get made and contribute to crowdfunding. “Angel’s model is simple – listen to what our Angel Guild wants.”
The King Of Kings earned an A+ CinemaScore, which according to Angel Studios sources makes it one of 128 to achieve the score and only one of five non-Pixar/Disney productions to do so.
Five fresh entries broke into the top five amid concerns they could cannibalise each other. 20th Century Studios’ spy thriller The Amateur starring Rami Malek arrived third on $15m from 3,400 through Disney. A24’s Iraq-set war film Warfare from Alex Garland placed fourth on $8m from 2,670 with an A- CinemaScore and is based on co-director Ray Mendoza’s experiences as a Navy Seal. Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, and Joseph Quinn are among the cast. Universal/Blumhouse’s horror Drop rounded out the top five with a $7.5m debut in 3,085.
Next weekend’s Easter holiday is expected to bring powerful holds for more than just The King Of Kings. Fathom Entertainment opened the latest episodic instalment in Chosen: The Last Supper, rolling out Part 3 of Season 5 in 2,296 sites in sixth place on $6m. Part 2 ranks tenth in its second weekend and has amassed $11.4m after Part 1 earned $20m.
After four weeks of release, Disney’s Snow White ranks eighth on $81.9m. The ill-fated remake has had to contend with bad press over cast comments, backlash against CGI dwarfs, and generally impoverished reviews and is the lowest-grossing Disney live-action remake ever.
Amazon MGM Studio’s Jason Statham action film A Working Man in seventh has earned $33.5m in three weekends. Tamil-language mobster drama Good Bad Ugly delivered just over $800,000 from 699 sites through Prathyangira Cinemas. Sony Pictures Classics reported that The Penguin Lessons starring Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce has grossed $2.7m after three weekends.
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