Easter weekend is a triumphant one for Warner Bros., as “A Minecraft Movie” continues its torrid pace with a third No. 1 at the box office while Ryan Coogler’s original horror film “Sinners” is off to a promising start with historic levels of critical and audience acclaim on its side.
Saturday industry estimates have “Minecraft” earning $45 million in its third weekend, dropping just 43% as its domestic total reaches a remarkable $348 million. Taking advantage of school spring breaks, the Legendary co-production has kept kids coming out to scream “chicken jockey” at the screen and is estimated to have a domestic total of $348 million by Sunday with a $1 billion global total guaranteed.
“Sinners,” meanwhile, has earned $19 million from 3,308 locations on Friday and is currently projected for a $41 million opening. That’s a solid start for the reported $90 million net budget production, though it will need to leg out considerably to turn a theatrical profit for Warner Bros. as the film has a first-dollar revenue sharing deal with Coogler.
But “Sinners” could very well get those box office legs, as it is shaping up to be one of the most critical acclaimed horror films of all time. The movie sports spectacular Rotten Tomatoes scores of 98% critics and 97% audience, 5/5 on PostTrak and a historic A on CinemaScore.
For horror films on the audience polling service, a B or B+ is considered a positive result, while an A- is a rare result that only a few classics of the genre like Jordan Peele’s “Get Out,” James Wan’s “The Conjuring” and Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” have ever earned. “Sinners” has become the first horror film to earn an A on CinemaScore since James Cameron’s “Aliens” in 1986.
Like “Aliens,” which blended horror with action, “Sinners” is a genre bender, mixing its bloody vampire frights with mature drama and crowd-pleasing musical sequences. That blend has critics and audiences raving and could create the longterm buzz that establishes Coogler as a name-brand director alongside the likes of Jordan Peele, whose 2022 film “Nope” opened to $44 million and stands as the mark “Sinners” has to beat to earn the highest opening weekend for an original film since the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Angel Studios/Mofac Animation’s “The King of Kings” continues to draw out Christian moviegoers for Easter weekend, dropping just 12% from its $19 million opening for a $17 million second weekend and a $45 million 10-day total. Even if subsequent weekend drops are higher with kids back in school, the animated Gospel retelling now joins “Sound of Freedom” as the second box office hit for Angel Studios.
More to come…
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