- A Minecraft Movie £5,307,316 – £45,467,916
Down 26% in its third weekend
Took £2.39m 45.2% (+16.02% £2.06m) Friday; £1.93m 36.5% (-25.2% £2.58m) Saturday; £951k 18% (-67% £2.56m) Sunday; £1.94m Monday; £719k Tuesday.
The 31st biggest third weekend between Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace (close to Joker, Wicked, Incredibles 2 and Alice in Wonderland) and the 64th biggest inflated third weekend between Wicked and Avengers Assemble (close to Shrek, The Dark Knight Rises, Meet the Fockers and Men In Black)
There have been many articles about why the industry failed the predict the BO performance of A Minecraft Movie, saying it was due to the “Chicken Jockey” TikTok viral, As with the Gentleminions viral with Minions: Rise of Gru three years ago, looking at the number of views these videos had, they have been seen by a small percentage of those who paid to see the film and the media has made it a far bigger story than it really is.
Other films that targeted a similar audience include.
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 25.7% £5,978,904 /£6,430,751 and £21,880,053 66.53% of £32,887,286/£38,760,016
2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dropped 36.1% £5,210,725 and £17,835,902, 47.03% of £36,968,605
2022’s Uncharted dropped 19.8% £3,775,360 and £12,163,778 50.5% of £24,091,881
69th biggest between The King’s Speech and The Inbetweeners Movie (close to Minions The Rise of Gru, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins Returns and Toy Story 2) and 154th biggest inflated between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Batman Forever (close to Babe, Crocodile Dundee II, The Silence of the Lambs and Paddington).
Jack Black made history on Friday with viral hit Steve’s Lava Chicken, having the shortest song ever (34 seconds) to make the UK’s singles chart at #21, ahead of the previous shortest, 2007’s Jonny Trunk and Wisbey’s 36-second hit The Ladies’ Bras at #27. Jack Black also beat the chart success of Peaches featuring 2023’s Super Mario Bros.
- 2. Sinners £2,424,594 – NE
Took £899k 37.30% Friday; £837k 34.73% Saturday; £677k 28.09% Sunday; £887k Monday; $489k Tuesday
717th biggest opening between House of Gucci and Maid in Manhattan (close to Scream (2022), The Woman In Black: Angel of Death, The Beach, and RoboCop (2014) and 1,136th biggest inflated opening between Peter Pan and Good Will Hunting (close to Predator 2, The Devil’s Advocate, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and The Invisible Man)
30th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between If and Red One (close to A Quiet Place: Day One, A Complete Unknown, Mickey 17 and Smile 2); 10th biggest 2025 opening between A Complete Unknown and Mickey 17.
219th widest opening in 609 cinemas; similar to Doctor Sleep (close to Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Great Escaper and Inside Out; 253rd 600+ opening since 2015’s Jurassic World
Supernatural Horror Sinners received incredibly positive reviews over the last week and had a big London premiere this week with the cast and director in town. Director Ryan Coogler previously worked with Michael B. Jordan in 2016’s Creed (opened £2,221,758, taking £5,684,690.
Sinners didn’t have the existing fanbase as Creed or Black Panther, but the trailer reaction has been positive. Comparison films included 2018’s A Quiet Place, £2,696,892, taking £11,801,912 and Nosferatu, but its £5,246,910 opening was inflated with £2,181,447 previews taking £12,547,480.
2023’s Evil Dead Rise, £1,477,840, taking £5,288,972
Jordan Peele’s
2022’s Nope opened £1,859,337 (£720k Friday) taking £7,869,824
2017’s Get Out opened £2,160,099, taking £10,053,463
2019’s Us opened £2,766,839 taking £9,071,603
1995’s Interview with the Vampire opened £2,334,399/£5,312,770, taking £10,515,385/£23,931,566
One issue is that films targeting older audiences have struggled to find wide audiences since January, so many wouldn’t have seen the Sinners trailer for several months in cinemas, and all horrors since Nosferatu in January have struggled to find wide audiences, many of them receiving positive reviews. While it’s also Easter, a time when families try to do things together, and Sinners isn’t a film they will see as a whole family, why does some day dating make no sense, similar to last weekend with The Amateur and Drop opening?
- 3. The Penguin Lessons £1,057,236 – NE
Took £285,549 from previews (Weds/Thurs)
Took £304k 28.95% Saturday; £289k 27.52% Saturday; £173k 16.48% Sunday; £311k Monday; £133k Tuesday.
1,659th biggest opening between Hellboy (2004) and The Spy Who Dumped Me (close to Lucky Number Slevin, Conclave, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Brooklyn) and 2,297th biggest inflated opening between We Bought A Zoo and Backbeat (close to The Death of Stalin, Definitely, Maybe, The Good Liar and Confetti).
50th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between Conclave and Terrifier 3 (close to The Amateur, Marching Powder, A Real Pain and Black Bag); 15th biggest 2025 opening between The Monkey and A Real Pain.
418th widest opening in 551 cinemas similar to The Addams Family, The Post and Valerian; 703rd 500+ opening since 2002’s Monsters, Inc.
Mid-April is often a time when distributors release British films, but it’s normally the week after schools have reopened, not the weekend of Easter (schools do reopen on Tuesday). Comedy drama The Penguin Lessons has received positive reviews and strong positive reactions from talker screenings. The film stars Steve Coogan and is directed by Peter Cattaneo, based on Tom Michell’s 2016 memoir.
The script was written by Jeff Pope, who previously wrote screenplays for Philomena, The Lost King and Stan & Ollie. It could be described as the Dead Poets Society with Penguins. 1989’s Dead Poets Society opened £605,680/£2,058,792, taking £5,871,252/£19,957,217.
Other inspirational teacher films include Good Will Hunting, Dangerous Minds, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, Educating Rita, Finding Forrester, The Man Without a Face, Mona Lisa Smile, One Eight Seven and Remember the Titans.
Director Peter Cattaneo had massive success with 1997’s The Full Monty, but all the films he has directed since have struggled to find similar success; 2001’ Lucky Break, 2006’s Opal Dream. 2008’s The Rooker and 2020’s Military Wives (opened £968,468, taking £2,499,922 (COVID-affected cinemas closed two weeks after opening). Lionsgate acquired UK rights in December 2023.
Over the last 10 years have wondered if a film like The Full Monty was released, would it be a similar success as when it opened in August 1997, it opened #2, and I do think the death of Princess Diana also helped it as it became the “People’s Champion” as Princess Diana was the “People’s Princess”. It became the film that audiences kept watching again and again in the cinema. A few years later, Titanic did similar and films like Mamma Mia!, The Greatest Showman and Barbie did similarly. All these films weren’t expected to be the huge successes they were; they became successful as audiences responded to them as they did with The Full Monty.
There have been many feel-good British films released over the years since, but none have connected to audiences as those British films of the 90s, some would suggest, films like Love Actually and Bridget Jones’s Diary, but they were sure things as Mamma Mia! as the stage show was hugely successful as Wicked still is.
These feel-good British films used to be the lifeblood of UK cinema, but the audience for these films didn’t rush out to see them over the opening weekend; they took time to find their audience, but films aren’t now allowed to do so anymore, and The Penguin Lessons will see a big reduction of showtimes this weekend.
While exhibitors increase prices for tentpoles. Surely should go the opposite way for smaller British films to try to get audiences into cinemas, as Lionsgate’s Zygi Kamasa said in 2014, “Something drastic was needed,” but nothing, of course, has been done since. Of course, if that did happen, exhibitors wouldn’t book The Penguin Lessons; it didn’t play in Odeon Cinemas due to contractual issues.
The industry celebrates the predictable success of A Minecraft Movie, but audiences will always come out to see these films; it’s the smaller films that have been squeezed over the last 20 years. Exhibitors demand studios play out theatrical windows before films can be released on other platforms, but they will pull films like The Penguin Lessons within a week, as they aren’t the kind of films audiences rush out to see over opening weekend. These films opened far too wide; these films used to expand over weeks as they got a chance to find their audience.
The Penguin Lessons plays to an older demographic who prefers going to the cinema during the week rather than the weekend, so it will likely perform as strongly during weekdays as the weekends.
Exhibitors always talk about the need for more films to be released, but it’s not more films they want, but the right kind of films, as they should be supporting films like The Penguin Lessons and give them a chance to find their audience, as similar feel-good British films 20+ years ago would.
Lionsgate acquired UK rights in December 2023. They also had UK rights for Military Wives; Sony Pictures Classics acquired US rights in October 2024, opening in the US in March, $1.18m, taking $2.86m to date.
- 4. The Amateur £903,139 – £3,020,212
Down 18% in its second weekend
Took £354k 39.33% (+9.26% 324k) Friday; £340k 37.78% (-20.56% £428k) Saturday; £204k 22.67% (£349k -49.88%) Sunday; £283k Monday; £105k Tuesday
1,226th biggest second weekend between The King’s Man and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (close to 12 Monkeys, The Adjustment Bureau, A Few Good Men and Charlie Wilson’s War) and 1,800th inflated second weekend between The Sweeney and Déjà Vu (close to The Whole Nine Yards, A Perfect Murder, Wall Street and American Psycho)
38th biggest second weekend over the last 52 weekends between Better Man and Speak No Evil (close to Heretic, The Fall Guy, Conclave and Black Bag) and 10th biggest 2025 second weekend between Mickey 17 and Babygirl.
After The Amateur soft opening last week, it had a strong second-weekend hold due to strong word of mouth.
Disappointing opening for a well-received action/thriller that was compared to Jason Bourne, as with Black Bag set in the UK, should have opened far stronger, especially as it opened with almost half as much as last year’s Argylle.
2025’s Back Bag dropped 19.6% £735,933 and £2,282,295 73.61% of £3,100,522
2024’s The Beekeeper dropped 28.7% £682,307 and £2,097,937 54.78% of £3,830,079
2024’s Argylle dropped 50.6% £994,542 and £3,705,840 62.5% of £5,928,971
2001’s Swordfish dropped 38.3% £996,034 and £3,644,884 54.19% of £6,725,608/£12,866,381
1992’s Sneakers dropped 27.3% £422,874/£1,043,353 and £1,268,442 62.01% of £2,045,671/£5,047,263
James Hawes previously directed 2024’s One Life dropped 62.5% of £1,246,292 and £5,857,289, 58.64% of £9,988,047; he also directed the first series of Slow Horses.
The Amateur is the kind of adult thriller that 20th Century Fox was successful within the years before the studio was acquired by Disney, and also what Disney was remarkably successful with before they went into the property-making business, making films by Touchstone Pictures.
2,044th biggest between The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Meet the Spartans (close to Mona Lisa, Room, The General’s Daughter and Practical Magic) and 2,566th biggest inflated between the City Of God and The Negotiator (close to The Holdovers, The Big Lebowski, Goodbye Christopher Robin, and Being John Malkovich).
20th Century Fox
Gone Girl, Fight Club, Black Swan, The Monuments Men, Life of Pi, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Taken, Bridge of Spies, Man on Fire, Unstoppable, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Road to Perdition, Phone Booth, The Last King of Scotland, Hidden Figures, The Revenant, Murder on the Orient Express and The Descendants
Touchstone Pictures
The Sixth Sense, Enemy of the State, The Color of Money, Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Stakeout, Ransom, Face/Off, Air Force One, The Village, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Horse Whisperer, High Fidelity, Unbreakable, The Recruit, Déjà vu, The Help and War Horse.
Releasing The Amateur in April shows again that Disney has no interest in these kinds of films, as there’s no merchandise or theme park rides; these are just films. It was originally due to open in November, as 20th Century Fox released 2018’s Widows (opened £2,409,112, taking £6,275,005.
The Amateur is another film set in hacking, making it much more exciting than it is, a group of guys in a dark room working long hours. Include 1995’s Hackers, 1983’s Wargames,2015’s Blackhat, 2013’s The Fifth Estate, 2017’s The Fate of The Furious, 2010’s The Social Network, 2014’s Transcendence, 2010’s TRON: Legacy, 2006’s Firewall, 2003’s The Italian Job, 2008’s Eagle Eye, 2014’s The Imitation Game, 2012’s Skyfall, 1995’s Johnny Mnemonic, 1992’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 2007’s Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard, 1998’s Enemy of the State, 1999’s The Matrix and 2008’s Untraceable along with TV series including Mr Robot, Black Mirror and Silicon Valley.
- 5. Warfare £752,942 – NE
Took £115,132 from previews.
Took £257k 40.28% Friday; £221k 34.64% Saturday; £157k 24.61% Sunday; £220k Monday; £114k Tuesday.
2,143rd biggest opening between The Iron Claw and Mrs. Henderson Presents (close to A Few Good Men, We Were Soldiers, Lone Survivor and American Psycho) and 2,719th biggest inflated opening between Soapdish and Midnight Run (close to Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Frantic, The Lincoln Lawyer, and Domestic Disturbance).
57th biggest opening over the last 52 weeks between The Brutalist and Blink Twice (close to Black Bag, Flight Risk, The Apprentice and Companion); 19th biggest 2025 opening between The Brutalist and Companion.
329th widest, opening in 576 cinemas similar to THG Mockingjay Part 2 (close to Transformers One, Jungle Cruise, Madame Web and Terminator: Dark Fate; 703rd 500+ opening since 2002’s Monsters, Inc.
Warfare received widespread critical acclaim, with critics saying it was comparable to Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan in showing audiences the horror of war and being the best war film since Edward Berger’s 2023 Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front.
With Sinners opening against Warfare and The Amateur’s second weekend both targeting similar male audiences, it was always likely to struggle to find an audience, so we have to ask why A24 decided to date Warfare this weekend, as it was also Easter weekend.
Why did A24 open it a week after the US, as opening against The Amateur would have been better than opening against and it would have opened the same weekend as Alex Garland’s previous film Civil War opened last year £1,823,179 (including £216k IMAX previews) £499k 27.4% Friday; £612k 33.6% Sat; £712k 39% Sun; taking £6,123,850.
Probably shows a bit of naivety in the UK market by A24, as if Entertainment Films had released Warfare as they did Civil War, they would have released it last weekend. With several wide releases opening Friday, Warfare will see its showtimes reduced as exhibitors won’t give films a chance to find their audience. Warfare isn’t a film audiences will rush out to see, especially over the Easter holidays.
Alex Garland previously directed 2022’s Men opened £519,907 #3 568 screens, taking £1,004,483; 2018’s Annihilation was released theatrically in the US and internationally on Netflix; 2015’s Ex Machina opened £1,093,952 #5 442 screens, taking £2,890,149.
He wrote the screenplay for 2002’s 28 Days Later opened £1,500,079 (£2,769,377), taking £6,315,553 (£11,659,482 inflated), as well as 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Go, The Beach and Dredd and 28 Years Later opening in June.
Films about the Iraq War have struggled to find an audience in the UK 2009’s Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker won six Oscars, including Best Picture only took £794,769. Others, including Green Zone, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Lion For Lambs and Lone Survivor. The only films that have been successful in the UK have been 2015’s American Sniper opened £2,530,473, taking £13,424,242, and the 2000s’ Three Kings opened £1,438,818/£2,589,872, taking £6,090,521/£10,962,938.
UK box office in detail
The weekend’s top 10 box office took £11,824,074, up 3.4% from last weekend’s £11,429,088: 1,527,658 admissions up 11.7% from 1,367,674 admissions.
19th biggest weekend of the last 52 weeks between 28 June 2024 #1 Inside Out 2 £6,003,526 (49.6%) and 11 April 2025 #1 A Minecraft Movie £7,201,921 (63.01%)
66th biggest since cinemas reopened out of 231 weeks between 21 October 2022 #1 Black Adam £5,655,003 (47.06%) and 20 October 2023 #1 Trolls Band Together £3,051,810 (25.95%)
462nd biggest top 10 of the last 22 years (out of 1,202) between 22 July 2005 #1 Fantastic Four £3,541,391 (29.87%) and 15 November 2013 #1 Gravity £4,838,152 (40.94%) and 781st inflated between 06 May 2005 #1 Kingdom of Heaven £2,530,445 (36.2%) and 11 November 2016 #1 Arrival £2,924,059 (26.62%)
The top 3 took (£8,789,146) 74.3% of the top 10; A Minecraft Movie 44.9% (£5,307,316); Sinners 20.5% (£2,424,594); The Penguin Lessons 8.94% (£1,057,236).
363rd biggest percentage share #1 (44.89%) between 09 May 2003 #1 X-Men 2 £3,079,985 (44.96%) and 02 July 2021 #1 Fast & Furious 9 £2,681,393 (44.82%)
494th biggest admissions #1 (685,700) between 31 May 2019 #1 Aladdin £4,888,931 (687,613) and 17 November 2023 #1 THG: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes £5,420,681 (684,429)
Up 87.41% from 2024; (£6,309,075); Abigail (£596,590); La Rondine – Met Opera 2023/24 (£88,426); An American In Paris – The Musical (Re: 2024) (£72,387); Butterfly Tale (£63,708); The Book Of Clarence (£36,255); #1 Back To Black £1,897,014 2nd week 32% drop 748 screens (30.07% of top 10)
Up 32.09% from 2023; (£8,951,596); Evil Dead Rise (£1,477,840); Missing (£382,054); The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (£161,609); Coldplay – Music Of The Spheres: Live At River Plate (£145,544); #1 Super Mario Bros £4,271,315 3rd week down 44% 707 screens (47.72%)
Up 54.37% from 2022 (£7,659,588); The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (£516,697); #1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2nd week split over 4 weeks) £1,637,442 20% drop 647 screens (21.4% of top 10)
2021 Lockdown
2020 Lockdown
Up 136.90% from 2019: (£4,991,232); Red Joan (£432,866); Greta (£331,811); The Goonies (4K Restoration) (£59,033); #1 Shazam! £979,787 2nd week #1 over 3 weeks 512 screens (19.6% of top 10)
Up 107.47% from 2018: (£5,699,055); The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (£825,777); The Leisure Seeker (£105,130); Funny Cow (£74,142); Wildling (£20,111); #1 Rampage £1,413,973 2nd week down 66% (24.81%)
Up 25.42% from 2017: (£9,428,676); Their Finest (£850,328); Eugene Onegin – Met Opera 2017 (£274,598); Unforgettable (£270,610); The Belko Experiment (£129,942); The Zookeeper’s Wife (£101,407); Rules Don’t Apply (£47,158); #1 Fast & Furious 8 £3,593,733 2nd week 58% drop (38.12%)
Down 5.74% from 2016: (£12,580,441); Bastille Day (£762,598); Friend Request (£624,996); Shakespeare Live! (£250,893); Miles Ahead (£168,397); #1 The Jungle Book £8,095,442 2nd week 18% drop (64.54%)
Up 58.09% from 2015; (£7,479,374); Child 44 (£505,558); A Little Chaos (£331,530); Ivan The Terrible – Bolshoi 2015 (£97,268); The Last Five Years (£5,371); #1 Fast & Furious 7 £3,039,720 3rd week 44% drop (40.64%)
Down 16.91% from 2014: (£14,230,137); The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (£9,011,114); The Love Punch (£613,424); Locke (£251,063); #1 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 £9,011,114 1st week (63.32%)
Up 54.01% from 2013: (£7,677,512); Olympus Has Fallen (£2,247,900); Evil Dead (£1,375,842); Love is All You Need (£202,176); Promised Land (£52,664); The Lords of Salem (£925); The Words (£765); #1 Olympus Has Fallen £2,247,900 1st week (29.28%)
Up 47.11% from 2012 (£8,037,734); Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (£1,169,235); Lockout (£596,500); Gone (£275,087); Marley (£203,062); #1 Battleship £1,282,091 2nd week 66% drop (15.95%)
Up 18.16% from 2011; (£10,007,227); Fast Five (£5,332,096); Arthur (£764,468); Beastly (£553,069); TT3D (£312,998); Pina (£71,809); #1 Fast Five £5,332,096 1st week (53.28%)
Up 80.63% from 2010: (£6,545,848); Date Night (£1,272,405); It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (£464,468); The Joneses (£247,178); Centurion (£114,147); Agora (£31,530); Extract (£26,714); #1 Date Night £1,272,405 1st week 400 screens (19.4% of top 10)
Up 24.60% from 2009; (£9,489,959); I Love You Man (£1,122,258); Crank 2: High Voltage (£554,565); In the Loop (£468,954); Good (£27,054); Not Easily Broken (£10,727); #1 Monsters vs. Aliens £2,057,367 3rd week 1st #1 (21.68%)
Up 96.06% from 2008; (£6,030,881); Fool’s Gold (£975,498); In Bruges (expansion up 634%) (£638,654); Street Kings (£619,647); Happy-Go-Lucky (£383,365); Flashbacks of a Fool (£246,072); #1 21 £1,010,923 2nd week 39% drop (16.76%)
Up 121.89% from 2007: (£5,328,808); Fracture (£851,289); Alpha Dog (£452,232); The Reaping (£310,591); Pathfinder (£109,262); #1 Wild Hogs (£954,553 2nd week 44% drop (17.91%)
Up 82.04% from 2006; (£6,495,276): Silent Hill (£991,687); American Dreamz (£690,625); Eight Below (£413,525); Tristan and Isolde (£224,133); Mistress of Spices (£85,563); #1 Ice Age II £1,886,277 3rd week 48% drop (29.04%)
Up 117.10% from 2005 (£5,446,480); The Wedding Date (£808,641); Guess Who (£697,561); Cursed (£207,597); Beauty Shop (£131,060); #1 The Interpreter £1,212,734 2nd week 24% drop (22.27%)
Up 45.64% from 2004 (£8,118,464); The Butterfly Effect (£735,287); The Girl Next Door (£713,107); Hidalgo (£446,550); Barbershop 2 (£73,174); #1 Scooby-Doo Too £1,772,130 3rd week 13% drop 487 screens (21.83% of top 10)
Up 55.78% from 2003: (£7,590,235); Phone Booth (£1,385,040); How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (£1,247,975); Bulletproof Monk (£607,839); Ghosts of the Abyss (£75,227); #1 Johnny English £2,529,665 2nd week 26% drop (33.33%)
Up 85.54% from 2002 ((£6,372,772); The Scorpion King (£1,610,794); #1 Bend It Like Beckham £1,721,146 2nd week 14% drop (27.01%)
2024 Next week: (£6,698,311); Challengers (£1,607,094); There’s Still Tomorrow (£93,553); Boy Kills World (£81,797); Ordinary Angels (£51,719); #1 Challengers £1,607,094 1st week 699 screens (23.99% of top 10)
US Box Office
- Sinner – Warner Bros
Opened $48.007m; received positive reviews (97% Rotten Tomatoes) and A CinemaScore
Took $4.7m from Thursday previews; Us $7.4m; Nope $6.4m; Dune $5.1m; A Quiet Place Part II $4.8m; A Quiet Place $4.3m; Mad Max: Fury Road $3.7m
Biggest opening for an original film since 2019’s Us ($71m)
317th biggest opening between Hotel Transylvania 2 and The Fault in Our Stars (close to A Quiet Place, It Ends with Us, A Quiet Place Part II and Interstellar).
It was shot in IMAX and released in selected cinemas in 70mm; it had IMAX cinemas for two weeks until Thunderbolts opened; it played in 8 cinemas in IMAX 70mm and 7 Laser IMAX across the US.
IMAX/PLFs/Dolby/4DX took 45% of the weekend BO, with IMAX taking 20% (including $1m from 70mm) it’s the highest horror IMAX film and one of the top 10 biggest IMAX opening after Interstellar (26%), Oppenheimer (26%), Tron (24%), Dunkirk (23%), Dune 2 (22%), and Gravity (21%).
Sinners in the fourth film starring Michael B. Jordan and directed by Ryan Coogler
It was expected to open between $45m-$50m; Warner Bros were predicting $35m-$40m opening and was expecting to open with $10m-$15m internationally.
Warners became the first studio since 2009 to have two movies gross $40m+ over the same weekend, with Sinners and A Minecraft Movie taking 64% of all the tickets sold over the weekend. The last time it happened was with James Cameron’s Avatar, $75m, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, $49m.
It was the first horror film to get an A CinemaScore. A- horrors include Five Nights at Freddy’s, Get Out, The Lost Boys, The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, A Quiet Place Part II and Child’s Play 2.
Warner Bros acquired Sinners, accepting Ryan Coogler’s demands that included final cut, first-dollar gross, and a rights reversion clause giving him ownership 25 years after release. After losing Christopher Nolan to Universal, Warner Bros wanted to make more prestigious films, including Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon-ho.
Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell, The Bride! Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, One Battle After Another directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Flowervale Street directed by David Robert Mitchell and Judy directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Quentin Tarantino demanded a similar deal with Sony Pictures for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Tarantino gaining ownership of the film after 30 years. This is not new, as James Cameron did something similar many years ago; it has a $90m budget.
Sinners opened bigger than 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, $41.08m (taking $142.5m and $392.1m worldwide), trade press highlighted its strong opening, but with Sinners focused on the deal Ryan Coogler had with Sinners, despite it being remarkably similar to Quentin Tarantino’s. Why does the trade press single out some films’ profitability positivity, but then, with Sinners, Variety said, “$90 million price tag before global marketing expenses, so profitability remains a way away” Ben Stiller was one of many who questioned Variety’s headline.
Why are there some films that the trades question about their profitability, like Sinners.
Ryan Coogler thanked audiences, saying “the gift of the opportunity of making a film inspired by my family and my ancestry,” but he was equally driven by a desire to please theatregoers. “We always had our minds on you, the audience, and felt a deep responsibility to entertain you, and move you in the way only cinema can,” he writes. “I believe in cinema. I believe in the theatrical experience. I believe it is a necessary pillar of society. It’s why so many of my colleagues have dedicated their lives to the craft. We don’t get to do what we do if you don’t show up.” … “The global theatrical audience has allowed me to dream, find a career, and build a more sustainable life for me and my family. The only way that I know how to thank you for that is by continuing to mine my personal human experience and my relationships for more stories to bring to you in cinematic language. Your response to the film has reinvigorated me and many others who believe in this art form. “Together, maybe we can expand the definition of what a blockbuster is, what a horror movie is, and what an IMAX audience looks like. “I’ll see you at the movies, popcorn bucket in hand!”
BO is now 5% ahead of 2024 and 29% behind 2019. A few weeks ago, they were 11% behind 2024 and 40% behind 2019.
According to Cinema United/NATO, 2024’s average adult ticket price is $11.51, up 6.8% from 2023 ($10.78). While EntTelligence’s average price of a standard seat was $13.82 in Q1 2025, compared to $13.02 in Q1 2024. For IMAX, adult prices increased from $18.31 in Q1 2024 to $19.51 in Q1 2025. The average standard ticket increased from $12.14 in 2024 to $12.93 in Q1 of 2025. For Minecraft, the average standard seat was $15.15, according to EntTelligence.
In comparison, we are to believe UK prices dropped 2.7% last year despite far higher energy cost increases in the UK over the last year compared to the US and also minimum wage increases.
Since 2000, it’s the eighth time Warner Bros has had the top Easter weekend box office after 2010’s Clash of the Titans, 2016’s Batman v. Superman, 2018’s Ready Player One, 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona, 2021’s Godzilla v. Kong, 2022’s Fantastic Beasts 3; 2024’s Godzilla x Kong and now Sinners. Warner Bros took 64% of the weekend’s box office.
2013’s Fruitvale Station opened $4.59m (wide), taking $16.1m and $17.38m; received widespread critical acclaim, had a budget of $900k, and was acquired for $2m
2015’s Creed opened $29.63m, taking $105.77m and $174.17m worldwide; had two more sequels and a fourth in development
2018’s Black Panther opened $202m, taking $700.42m and $1.349bn worldwide
Similar films include.
2022’s Nope opened $44.3m, taking $123.27m and $171.23m worldwide
2019’s Us opened $71.11m,33 taking $175.08m and $256.07m worldwide
2017’s Get Out opened $33.37m, taking $176.04m and $255.4m worldwide
Other comparisons include.
1994’s Interview With The Vampire opened $36.38m/$90.2m and $105.26m/$260.9m and $223.66m/$554.5m inflated worldwide
2025’s Nosferatu opened $21.65m, taking $95.6m and $181.01m worldwide
Opened with $15.4m from 71 territories; UK $3.2m; France $2m; Mexico $1.1m; took $11.1m from IMAX worldwide; $9.1m from the US, and $2m internationally from 359 IMAX cinemas.
- A Minecraft Movie – Warner Bros
Dropped 55% in its third weekend, taking $40.49m and $343.82m.
25th biggest third between Wonder Woman and The Revenant (close to Incredibles 2, The Dark Knight, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Zootopia)
75th biggest between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Thor: Love and Thunder; 275th biggest, inflated between The Muppet Movie and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; 2nd biggest film based on a video game between The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog 3; 8th biggest Warner Bros film between American Sniper and Joker.
Third weekends
2023’s Super Mario Bros dropped 35.1% $59.93m, and $436.06m of $574.93m and $1.36bn worldwide
2014’s The Lego Movie dropped 37.2% $31.3m and $183.01m of $257.96m and $470.75m worldwide
2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle dropped 25.6% to $37.23m and $245.6m of $404.54m and $962.54m WW
2023’s Barbie dropped 43% $53m and $459.39m of $636.23m and $1.447bn WW
Two weekends ago, US BO was 11% below 2024 levels and 40% behind 2019: now it’s down to 0.5% of 2024 and 31% below 2019.
Took $59m from 76 territories $376.2m total, and $720.8m worldwide; UK $59.2m; Germany $27.8m; Australia $27.4m; Mexico $24.8m; China $24m; France $16.9m; Brazil $14.4m; Poland $14.3m; Spain $14m; Italy $11m; Argentina $8.8m; Holland $7.3m; taken $9.6m from IMAX internationally and $26.6m worldwide.
139th biggest worldwide between F9: The Fast Saga and Dune: Part Two; 2nd biggest video game worldwide between The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.359bn) and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ($489.9m); 24th biggest Warner Bros film worldwide between The Matrix Reloaded and Dune: Part Two.
- Warfare – A24
Dropped 42% in its second weekend $4.85m and $17.12m
2024’s Civil War dropped 56.1% $11.22m and $44.97m of $68.75m, and $127.33m worldwide
2022’s Men dropped 63.5% $1.2m, and $5.94m of $7.58m and $11.15m worldwide
2018’s Annihilation dropped 49.3% $5.6m and $20.59m of $32.73m and $43.07m worldwide
2014’s Ex Machina dropped 58.3% $2.23m and $10.86m of $25.44m and $36.86m worldwide
- The Amateur – 20th Century Studios
Dropped 53% in the second weekend, $7m and $27.13m
Comparisons include.
2002’s The Bourne Identity dropped 44.4% $15.07m and $54.38m of $121.66m and $214.03m
2008’s Taken dropped 16.9% $20.54m and $53.61m of $145m, and $226.83m worldwide
2009’s The International dropped 52.2% $4.46m and $17.03m of $25.45m, and $60.25m worldwide
2016’s The Accountant dropped 44.8% $13.64m and $47.53m of $86.26m and $155.56m worldwide
Took $11.6m from 52 territories, taking $37m and $64.3m worldwide; France $3.3m; UK $4.1m; Mexico $3.2m; Spain $2m; Japan $2.3m.
- The King of Kings – Angel Studios
Dropped 9% in its second weekend, $17.57m and $45.63m
584th biggest second weekend between Think Like a Man and G-Force (close to Mamma Mia!, Seabiscuit, Peter Rabbit and Beverly Hills Chihuahua).
The Easter animated faith film had a strong second-weekend hold, similar to 2023’s Sound of Freedom, taking $27.28m up 38.6% and $85.77m of $184.17m and $250.57m worldwide.
Similar films include.
1998’s The Prince of Egypt increased 4.1% $15.11m and $40.05m of $101.41m and $218.61m worldwide.
2014’s Son of God dropped 59.5%, $10.37m and $41.87m of $59.7m and $70.82m worldwide.
2014’s Heaven Is for Real dropped 36.3% $14.35m and $52.46m of $91.44m and $101.88m worldwide.
UK Box Office Top 10
UK Box Office Preview
With the end of the Easter holidays, A Minecraft Movie will drop about 50% in its fourth weekend, this could still see it stay #1 ahead of the new releases, and it could see Warner Bros have the top three films in the UK BO, with The Accountant 2 opening #2 and Sinners dropping down to third.
2016’s The Accountant opened £1,623,866, taking £5,067,474
The Accountant 2 premiered at the SXSW, receiving positive reviews; a third film is in development. In 2021, the director said he had plans for a trilogy.
The other new re-releases include Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith being re-released in cinemas for its 25th anniversary, but unlike Star Wars: Episode I Phantom Menace was re-released last year, not on Star Wars Day.
20th Century Fox re-released Star Wars in 1997 for its 20th anniversary, ahead of the release of the prequels. Disney re-released Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back in 2020 and Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi in 1983 for their 40th anniversaries. They weren’t anywhere nearly as successful. The Empire Strikes Back was re-released in cinemas a few weeks after they reopened for the first time after COVID-19 restrictions, £50,406 #1 from 102 screens.
Star Wars: Episode I – Phantom Menace opened £1,159,370 #2 last year over Star Wars Day weekend 673 screens.
Return of the Jedi opened £446,291 #7 from 40 screens; £140k Friday; £152k Saturday; £154k Sunday.
Surprisingly, Disney only booked it into 40 cinemas and also pulled it from those cinemas after only 5 days, as had it opened in more cinemas, it could have made the top three.
In July 2020 Disney was going to re-release The Empire Strikes Back in 4K in cinemas for its 40th anniversary, but after failing to get agreements with exhibitors re-released the 1997 2D version (opened with £33,343 #2 from 115 screens); it is 23 seconds shorter than the 1997 re-release as Disney likely removed the iconic Fox fanfare at the start.
Return of the Jedi was previously re-released in cinemas in April 1997 as part of the 20th anniversary of Star Wars Special Editions, when Star Wars was released in cinemas in March, with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi released over the following weeks.
Star Wars Special Edition opened with £3,770,206 from 354 screens (£7,484,832 inflated) taking £16,343,172 (£32,445,413 inflated)
Empire Strikes Back Special Edition opened £2,023,379 from 354 screens (£3,949,010 inflated) taking £7,183,898 (£14,020,748 inflated)
Return of the Jedi Special Edition opened £1,695,114 from 353 screens (£3,308,338 inflated) taking £4,885,138 (£9,534,279 inflated)
- Opening in three weeks
- Final Destination: Bloodlines – Warner Bros (Wednesday 14th)
Supernatural horror starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, and Tony Todd and directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein.
It’s the sixth film of the Final Destination film series and a sequel to 2011’s Final Destination 5.
Before the release of Final Destination 5, there were plans to make sequels back-to-back, but after Final Destination 5 only took $42.58m in the US and $157.88m worldwide, the plans were cancelled. In 2019, New Line announced plans to make another film, which was going to be a “re-imagining” It was in development for several years, it was shot in 2023, and all of Tony Todd’s scenes were filmed before his death.
2000’s Final Destination opened £1,498,519/£2,728,338, taking £10,218,118/£18,604,022
2003’s Final Destination 2 opened £1,675,057/£2,987,940, taking £5,232,764/£9,334,120
2006’s Final Destination 3 opened £2,219,978/£3,732,957, taking £8,870,775/£14,916,462
2009’s The Final Destination opened £3,633,395/£5,289,796, taking £12,654,235/£18,423,077
2011’s Final Destination 5 opened £1,450,464/£1,895,656, taking £5,250,665/£6,862,255
The trailer was viewed 178.7m worldwide within the first 24 hours, the second most-watched horror film trailer after It Chapter One.
- Hurry Up Tomorrow – Lionsgate
Musical psychological thriller starring Abel Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan and directed by Trey Edward Shults. The film is based on Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye’s sixth studio album.
The film was in post-production for over a year as it struggled to find distribution and was acquired by Lionsgate in November 2024.
- Hallow Road – Universal Pictures
Thriller starring Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, and Megan McDonnell and directed by Babak Anvari; premiered at SXSW, receiving positive reviews.