A Minecraft Movie blocks several new movies from the box office top spot

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Four big new films made their debuts over the weekend, but none were powerful enough to dethrone “Steve,” “Creepers,” or a flood of TikTok memes. The Minecraft movie, titled “A Minecraft Movie,” continued its reign domestically, earning $80.6 million in its second week. This is a 50% drop from its opening weekend and ranks as the 17th-biggest second weekend in history. Additionally, this weekend’s earnings are significantly higher than many pre-release predictions for “A Minecraft Movie.” In just 10 days since its release, it has amassed $280.3 million domestically, surpassing all other live-action video game movies and aiming to reach $500 million domestically as well.

In a turn of events, Angel Studios, often embroiled in controversy, saw success following the release of “The King of Kings,” surpassing the earnings of most films they had previously distributed. Over its domestic debut, the film grossed an impressive $19.05 million, making it a standout among independent animated movies. In comparison to other films not produced by major studios or DreamWorks SKG, “The King of Kings” made a significant impact. For instance, “The Addams Family” raked in $30.3 million in October 2019, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train” opened to $21.23 million in April 2021, “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero” debuted to $21.12 million in August 2022, and the January 2014 release “The Nut Job” earned $19.42 million.

In North America, animated films can be financially successful, but it’s an area heavily controlled by prominent film studios. Therefore, independent animated films usually open at a large scale when released during the first two quiet months of the year by companies like The Weinstein Company or Focus Features. The success of The King of Kings can be attributed to strategic ticket sales from Angel Studios (offering a free child’s ticket with every adult ticket) and timing the release for Easter, a Jesus-themed holiday. This victory is significant for Angel Studios, which has faced numerous negative headlines in the past two years.

In contrast, the film titled “The Amateur” debuted with a $15 million take. This Rami Malek spy thriller, not typically the norm for 20th Century Studios (though it was essentially a reboot of the 1981 original), has become an exception in the last six years as Disney’s studio has transformed into a factory producing hits like “Alien,” “Planet of the Apes,” “Predator,” and “Avatar.” Despite not being a blockbuster hit on a $60 million budget, the decent earnings of “The Amateur” highlight the importance of releasing diverse films in theaters. If it had been premiered on Hulu, “The Amateur” might have disappeared after one day, swallowed by the algorithm.

In cinemas, where screenings are limited, there was greater eagerness and debate about its premiere due to time constraints. Moreover, with a significant promotional push behind it, The Amateur is no longer an unknown film compared to many spy movies on streaming platforms (like Heart of Stone which seems forgotten). This recognition will aid it in the future when it becomes available for purchase or download. The Amateur’s opening weekend earnings were comparable to pre-COVID releases such as American Assassin and Bridge of Spies within the CIA spy movie genre. These figures are also impressive considering that Rami Malek starred in his first standalone theatrical release, which did not feature Queen songs or the James Bond franchise. In summary, it had a decent debut. Disney, consider releasing more titles like this one in cinemas.

This weekend saw the arrival of a new film titled “Warfare,” which earned $8.3 million in its opening weekend. This is significantly lower than the $25 million debut of Alex Garland’s “Civil War” last April and its budget of $20 million is a concern. However, for a grim war movie with no major stars, this is a decent start. It also marks a successful debut for A24, whose wide releases prior to this had not fared well. As of now, if “Warfare” doesn’t falter after this weekend, it could become one of only 17 films from A24 to gross over $20 million domestically. Among these (projected) 17 movies, half will have been released since January 1, 2024.

Despite favorable reviews and a buzzworthy premiere at SXSW last month, the movie “Drop,” directed by Christopher Landon, couldn’t break the ongoing box office slump at Blumhouse. Surprisingly, its opening earnings were only $7.5 million, even with a substantial marketing effort from Universal. Interestingly, this is lower than the debut of “The Woman in the Yard” two weeks ago, a title from Blumhouse that had fewer initial expectations and didn’t benefit from events like a SXSW premiere. In fact, “Drop’s” opening was only $2.2 million more than “The Hunt,” another Blumhouse production that debuted right before theaters closed due to COVID-19.

The film “Drop,” which cost $11 million to produce, is expected to have limited losses. Despite Universal spending a substantial amount on promotion for this Disney production, they’re hoping for box office performances similar to “Get Out” or “The Black Phone.” Spending such a large sum on promotions for movies like these indicates high expectations. However, with numerous thrillers and horror films slated for release in early 2025, “Drop” may have faced competition. Nevertheless, I believe that a compelling movie idea can still draw audiences even in a crowded market. For instance, consider how “The Amateur” managed to outshine “Novocaine” and “Love Hurts” during its opening weekend, despite releasing shortly after those films. Unfortunately, the concept and style of “Drop” simply didn’t resonate with audiences.

The past 16 months have seen underperforming films from Blumhouse (such as Night Swim and Wolf Man), which is cause for concern. The marketing campaign for Drop, which didn’t effectively differentiate its characters or storyline, likely contributed to this trend, even with a more widespread PG-13 rating. If it’s heavily promoted against upcoming titles like Sinners and Until Dawn, Drop may find it challenging to gross $20 million domestically.

Title “The Chosen: Last Supper — Part 3” debuted with a gross of $5.81 million, slightly less than half of the initial part’s earnings from two weeks back. It appears that the first installment drew a large crowd of The Chosen‘s fans, but interest waned for the subsequent parts. Nevertheless, earning $5.81 million for what essentially amounts to two TV episodes is still an impressive achievement. On the other hand, “A Working Man” is struggling to maintain the momentum of “The Beekeeper“, dropping by 58% in its third week in cinemas. Despite this decline, it has managed to gather another $3.06 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $33.52 million.

In the latest round of earnings, Snow White experienced another 53% drop this week, earning $2.8 million in its fourth weekend. With just $81.92 million accumulated over 24 days since its release, Snow White might find it challenging to surpass $90 million domestically. Over the weekend, The Woman in the Yard dropped by 54%, adding another $2.1 million to its total of $20.35 million after 17 days. In its opening weekend, Good Bad Ugly made $812,000, while The Friend saw a 62% decline in its second wide release weekend, earning an additional $621,073. With $3.15 million in earnings so far, there’s a strong possibility that The Friend will become Bleecker Street’s 19th movie to clear $4+ million domestically. Lastly, The Chosen: Last Supper — Part 2 suffered an impressive 91% drop, grossing $619,952 for a domestic total of $10.64 million.

In an effort to create room for the movie “Warfare”, A24 decided to pull “Death of a Unicorn” from cinemas. Consequently, this film was removed from 2,219 theaters in its third week. Predictably, it suffered a massive drop of 81%, earning an additional $525,711, bringing its total domestic earnings to $12.4 million. Similarly, “Hell of a Summer” experienced a significant decline during this period, dropping by 75% to bring in $448,700. Its domestic total now stands at $2.9 million.

The tale of Wallis Island’s box office performance seems to be gradually fading, earning only $400,000 from 253 cinemas, equating to an average of $1,581 per theater. I have a strong feeling that any genre could achieve similar success theatrically in 2025 as they would’ve done before the COVID pandemic. Nevertheless, Wallis Island and the March 2025 debutant Bob Trevino Likes It seem to be films finding it particularly challenging in today’s pop culture environment – specifically, crowd-pleasing springtime independent movies.

In previous years, films like Hello, My Name is Doris, The Death of Stalin, or Gloria Bell (to name a few) would bring in substantial revenue through slow-release strategies by offering heartwarming, intimate content suitable for viewers aged 50 and over.

Despite growing challenges, attracting a specific demographic to cinemas has become increasingly tough over the past few years. Simultaneously, traditional methods of promoting such films – like live TV ads, newspaper announcements, or trailers before other independent movies – have dwindled in effectiveness. Today, these strategies draw fewer viewers than ever before. Even critically acclaimed arthouse films, such as “The Brutalist” and “Anora,” continue to generate impressive box office returns. However, reviving springtime indie films to their pre-COVID box office success remains elusive. For instance, Focus Pictures made wise decisions with the release of “Wallis Island,” including a gradual expansion of its theatrical presence rather than rushing into wide release. Still, these strategies struggle to surmount the hurdles facing springtime indies targeting audiences aged 50 and above.

Title “Captain America: Brave New World” saw a decrease of 75% this past weekend and earned an additional $342,000. Mentioning

Meanwhile, the road trip comedy “Sacramento” debuted with a gross of $314,000 from 241 locations, resulting in an average of $1,303 per theater.

“A Nice Indian Boy” lost 11 theaters this weekend but only dropped by 6%, earning $155,100. With a total gross of $401,502 over ten days, it’s showing promising weekend-to-weekend retention. Keep an eye on its performance as it continues to play.

Over the weekend, the ten highest grossing films raked in a staggering $145 million, marking an impressive milestone among North American April weekends. In fact, the current total of $431 million earned this April has already surpassed last year’s April gross of $430.21 million, and we’ve only just begun April 2025! With upcoming releases like Sinners, The Accountant 2, and a re-release of Revenge of the Sith, there’s still plenty of potential for April 2025 to break even more records. In fact, it might just join the exclusive club of only five Aprils in history to gross over $800 million!

It’s evident that having an abundance of fresh movies in the marketplace has significantly boosted theater revenues following a sluggish first three months of 2025. Instead of just A Minecraft Movie, both The King of Kings and The Amateur managed impressive debuts this weekend. For years, I’ve been emphasizing that diversity is what gives life its zest and is essential for a thriving box office environment. April 2025 has certainly proven this to be true. Here’s hoping the momentum we’re seeing in April 2025 can persist throughout the crucial summer moviegoing season.

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2025-04-14 16:15