‘Sinners' Bites Off Phenomenal 2nd Weekend as 20-year-old Star Wars Movie Takes 2nd Place
Horror movies are often one-week wonders at the box office, but Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' is defying the odds and proving to be true event cinema.
In its second weekend in theaters, 'Sinners' earned $45 million in ticket sales from theaters in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. That's down a miniscule 6% from its Easter holiday launch, the smallest drop in any genre since 'Avatar' in 2009. Worldwide, 'Sinners' has now made $161.6 million.
For the industry, the showing proves the film's reach has broadened beyond horror fans to mainstream audiences wanting to see what the hype is about. Last weekend, men made up 56% of the audience. This weekend, the gender divide narrowed to 50/50. Premium large format showings, like the 70mm IMAX screens, are also a big draw. IMAX screens worldwide accounted for some 21% of the second weekend globally, a nearly 9% increase from last weekend.
The original ensemble movie, starring Michael B. Jordan as twins, rode into theaters on a wave of great reviews. And, to be fair, 'Sinners' isn't simply a horror film: It blends elements of drama, action and musical into its southern gothic milieu, The Associated Press reported.
'That's one of the lowest second weekend holds for an overperforming wide release ever,' said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 'It's an absolute phenomenon."
Hollywood expects significant drop off in a movie's second week of release. Even a 50% dip is considered a solid number, baked into the movie math. When it's anything less than that, it's notable.
'You can buy a great opening weekend with marketing, but if a movie doesn't have the goods, it'll drop off," Dergarabedian said. 'There's no greater barometer of success than a second weekend hold like this."
The film was produced by Coogler's Proximity Media and Warner Bros., which handled the theatrical release. After some disappointments earlier in the year, it's the second major win for the studio after 'A Minecraft Movie' helped energize the box office earlier this month.
'Sinners' easily topped the biggest new competition this week: 'The Accountant 2,' a sequel starring Ben Affleck and released by Amazon MGM Studios, which opened in third place with an estimated $24.5 million in its first weekend. Gavin O'Connor directed the film, which played in 3,610 theaters in North America. Audiences gave it a promising A- CinemaScore.
The film that beat 'The Accountant 2' for second place was a 20-year-old Star Wars movie: 'Revenge of the Sith.' The anniversary re-release took in an estimated $25.2 million over the weekend, with many sellouts reported, more than doubling last year's release of 'The Phantom Menace.' Internationally, it earned $17 million from 34 territories, giving it a $42.2 million global weekend. It's one of the top grossing re-releases ever.
'A Minecraft Movie' landed in fourth place with $22.7 million, bringing its domestic total to around $380 million.
The scary video game adaptation 'Until Dawn' also opened this weekend to an estimated $8 million, rounding out the top five. Sony Pictures released the film, starring Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino, which has earned $18.1 million globally.
The 'Minecraft' and 'Sinners' wins have meant a huge boost for the April box office, which is up 102% from April 2024. The annual box office is also up over 10% from last year after running at a double-digit deficit in March. And this is all happening right before the industry's summer movie season kicks off on May 2 with Disney's 'Thunderbolts(asterisk).'
'There cannot be a better opening act for the summer movie season than this weekend,' Dergarabedian said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Denzel Washington Receives Surprise Honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes Premiere for 'Highest 2 Lowest'
Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival, in between Broadway performances, for the premiere of Spike Lee's 'Highest 2 Lowest' on Monday — and was rewarded with a surprise: an honorary Palme d'Or. Cannes had flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate Washington's speedy France trip, which came on his lone off-day while performing 'Othello' in New York. Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux surprised Washington with the award before the Monday night premiere, The Associated Press reported. 'This is my brother, right here,' said the film's director, Spike Lee, who passed the award to Washington. 'This is a total surprise for me,' said Washington. The festival usually gives out one or two honorary Palmes each edition — last year, the awardees were Studio Ghibli and George Lucas. Last week, Robert De Niro received one on the festival's opening night. De Niro's award was announced in advance, but surprise prizes aren't unheard of: In 2022, Tom Cruise was presented with a surprise honorary Palme d'Or just before the screening of 'Top Gun: Maverick.' The premiere also had another surprise: Rihanna attended and walked the carpet afterward with partner A$AP Rocky. Earlier this month, she revealed at the Met Gala that she was pregnant with their third child. While the festival's photo calls usually happen the day after a film's premiere, Cannes hosted one for 'Highest 2 Lowest' earlier Monday so Washington could attend. The actor, playfully posing with Lee and co-star A$AP Rocky, showed no signs of jet lag and left once the screening began. 'He told me to tell you: Thank you for the love,' Lee told the crowd after the screening. 'He's on Broadway doing 'Othello,' so it really took a lot for him to fly here. Let's give it up for Denzel Washington, please.' Lee also came to Cannes with obligations back in New York on his mind. He arrived at the film's premiere decked out in Knicks colors and wearing a blue and orange striped suit. Lee ended his brief speech in the Palais by hollering: 'New York Knicks!' That Washington would be able to make the trip had been a sticking point for Cannes. When the festival first announced its lineup last month, 'Highest 2 Lowest' wasn't included. Within hours, however, Lee himself announced the film was heading to Cannes. Representatives for the festival said they had been waiting for confirmation that Washington would attend to walk the red carpet. 'Highest 2 Lowest,' a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film 'High and Low,' will be released in theaters by A24 on Aug. 22 before streaming on Apple TV+ on Sept. 5.
Asharq Al-Awsat
11-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
'Thunderbolts' and ‘Sinners' Top Box Office Charts Once More
Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' and Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' dominated the North American box office charts again this weekend. Now in their second and fourth weekends respectively, the two films had some new competition, including a horror movie, a Kerry Washington action pic, a Josh Hartnett airplane thriller, and a Shakespeare-inspired musical. None of the additions made a significant impact. 'Thunderbolts' took first place, with $33.1 million from theaters in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. That's down 55% from its opening, The Associated Press reported. Internationally, it added $34 million, bringing its global total to $272.2 million. In just two weekends, the Walt Disney Co. release is already the fourth biggest of the year, globally and domestically. The movie is also faring better than the previous Marvel movie, 'Captain America: Brave New World,' which took a big 68% dive in its second weekend. The key difference was reviews, which don't always dictate the fate of superhero movies, but good word of mouth has helped 'Thunderbolts.' 'The holding power of this film harkens back to the heyday of Marvel,' said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 'The currency of the long-term playability is more important than the sheer opening weekends.' The studio also has another big movie coming later this summer in 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps.' 'Sinners,' meanwhile, crossed the $200 million mark in North American ticket sales this weekend, which is especially notable for an original R-rated movie. It added $21.1 million domestically, and $6.6 million internationally, bringing its global total to $283.3 million. Next weekend, it's also returning to 70mm IMAX screens 'by popular demand,' IMAX said. Warner Bros.' other juggernaut, 'A Minecraft Movie,' has made $409 million domestically and $909.6 million globally in its six weekends in theaters. It added just under $8 million to take third place this weekend, followed by 'The Accountant 2' in fourth with $6.1 million. Several new movies also opened in wide release this weekend, but none seemed to break through the noise. The biggest of the bunch was 'Clown in a Cornfield,' which earned $3.7 million (a relative high water mark for its distributor IFC) and cracked the top five. 'The second weekend in May, there is typically a bit of a lull,' Dergarabedian said. 'IFC picked a perfect date for this clown to scare people into the theater." 'Shadow Force,' a Lionsgate action pic with Washington and Omar Sy from 'The Grey' filmmaker Joe Carnahan, made $2 million from 2,170 screens. Vertical's 'Flight or Fight,' starring Hartnett as a mercenary on a plane full of assassins, also debuted with an estimated $2 million from 2,153 screens. In limited release, the Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd movie 'Friendship' launched on six screens in New York and Los Angeles and scored the best per-screen average of the year ($75,317) with many sellouts reported. A24 plans to expand the release nationwide over Memorial Day. Overall, it was a relatively quiet weekend, but thanks to 'A Minecraft Movie,' 'Sinners' and 'Thunderbolts,' the year-to-date box office is up around 16% from last year, according to Comscore data. Compared with 2019, however, it's down over 32%. Next week, 'Final Destination: Bloodlines' should give the marketplace another jolt before two giants debut over the holiday weekend: 'Lilo & Stitch' and 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-05-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Warner Bros Discovery Misses Revenue Estimates on Box Office Weakness
Warner Bros Discovery missed first-quarter revenue estimates on Thursday, weighed down by a lack of big box office hits from its studio and weakness in its traditional TV business as consumers continued to abandon cable for streaming. Like others in the media business, Warner Bros Discovery is losing thousands of cable TV subscribers each year, putting pressure on the company to consistently produce hit content and boost profitability in its streaming business. The threat of US tariffs on foreign-made films has also added to the headaches of an industry whose biggest-budget films are often produced across several continents. WBD struggled in the January-March quarter to replicate the success of last year's "Dune: Part Two," which grossed more than $700 million. The company's marquee release for the period, Bong Joon Ho's sci-fi dark comedy "Mickey 17," earned only slightly more than its reported budget at the box office. That meant studios revenue fell 18% to $2.31 billion, missing estimates of $2.73 billion, according to Visible Alpha. The company has, however, made a strong start to the second quarter with Ryan Coogler's horror film "Sinners" and the blockbuster "A Minecraft Movie," which has raked in nearly $900 million globally, making it the biggest release of 2025 so far. Its summer lineup also looks strong with "Superman," directed by Marvel's long-time hitmaker James Gunn, set to release in July. Revenue at the TV networks segment, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, fell 7%. Overall, revenue fell 10% in the first three months of 2025 to $8.98 billion, missing analysts' average estimate of $9.60 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
